Under the Full Moony
by Lost Queen of Egypt
Summary: The Marauders and beyond: How simple adventures in Hogwarts revealed special feelings for Sirius and Remus and how their relationship survived beyond school. Sirius Black X Remus Lupin Padfoot X Moony Rated M for later chapters. Regulus X Severus Snape
1. Scroll 1: Firs' Years Over Here!

Under the Full Moony

Scroll One: Firs' Years Over Here!

_Slam._

"I refuse to do it!" yelled the man, who'd been slammed into the wall of a deserted alley, by a tall man in a black cloak.

_**"Is that so? I don't think you realize who you're refusing!"**_ rasped the cloaked man, tightening his hold on the other man's neck.

"I have no wish to go over to the dark side, Fenrir!"

The cloaked man let out a cruel low laugh. Then his face got serious and he growled at his victim.

His growl sounded animalistic, dog-like almost, yet not ...

He spoke again in his raspy voice, _**"Then we shall see what your answer is after I'm through with the ones you love most!"**_

* * *

The little brown-haired boy sighed, exasperated, "But MUMMY! I'll be fine! Ted's house is just up the street and he has a new pet NIFFLER! It's been sniffling around their backyard ALL morning! C'mon mum, Nathan's going to be there too, to search for treasure!" 

"Treasure! In a backyard-"

"Ted's mum is fine with it! Please! It'll be loads of fun and I'd HATE to miss out on it!"

The little boy's mother sighed too as she looked at her son's pleading face.

"Fine, but remember what your father said, be back by sunset!"

It had been a hard day of digging for the three boys. Ted's Niffler hadn't found anything, yet kept digging purposely.

Wiping sweat from his brow, the brow-haired boy looked at the setting sun.

_'I'd better get going ...'_

"Guys-" he began but was cut off by the other too nudging him and pointing to the Niffler who'd suddenly gone into a frenzy.

"I think he's found something!"

All thoughts of his promise to his mum fled his mind.

_Later ..._

A loud howl brought the brow-haired boy to his senses, snapping him out of the trance he's been in as the Niffler had dug out a silver spoon, a small gold cross, and a few coins.

The boy shivered and looked up at the moon, full and white.

"Guys ... I was expected home about three hours ago."

Nathan looked at him, "So why haven't your parents sent an owl or come for you?"

"My dad's frantic about going out or sending owls out with letters after sunset. He's probably gone mad from worrying."

Ted and Nathan laughed a bit, "Alright, we'll walk you."

Another loud howl brought a shiver down their spine and Ted frowned, "Or you can both stay the night ...

Leaves rustled around them and the three small boys froze.

Suddenly something large and hairy with huge fangs came hurtling out at them. The three boys just stood there, transfixed by the sight of that ... thing.

There was a loud _'bang'_ as Ted's mother called at them to hurry inside in a rather frantic voice.

The three children made for the door, but before the small brown-haired boy could reach it, the thing pounced in front of him, tongue licking hungrily at its chops.

Then it pounced, slamming the boy onto the upturned dirt, and onto the stream of moonlight.

As the fangs sunk in, the boy thought of his father's warning, his mothers hesitation ... he'd never see either of them again.

The boy looked up into the eyes of the thing, the big yellow blood-shot eyes. And then he was gone, howling angrily; the silver spoon landed with a soft _'thud'_ near the boy. And as he looked at the silver spoon he realized why the wound on his neck felt like fire burning his shoulder and was spreading up and down the rest of his body ... the awful burning feeling. He realized, lying there as the thing had left him- sprawled on the dirt, head turned to the side, looking at the silver spoon shining in the moonlight ... realized what the thing was ... and what he now was.

He looked up to see images swimming together: his mother crying over him, holding him; his father sitting near him, face in his hands ... and the thing ... smirking over him ... it's big yellow, blood-shot eyes shining in the darkness ...

Remus cried out as he woke up. He blinked and sat up, looking out the window, seeing the countryside speeding by and remembering he'd already waved good-bye to his parents.

He smiled, _'I'm going to Hogwarts!'_

It was not lack of magical ability or talent that would have prevented him from ever setting foot inside the Castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had not Albus Dumbledore been Headmaster. No, it was his dark secret that would have.

Remus sighed contently at the hills in the distance, then suddenly became very stiff. There, on the window, the reflection of two other people looked back at him. He turned and cried out again when he saw two persons in his compartment.

It wasn't that he'd never seen other people besides his parents, it was just he hadn't interacted with anyone in about five years, or so. Shunned by his two best friends for what he was; feared by them ... he'd lived exiled in his room ... and occasionally in the basement.

The two darker haired boys looked at each other. Remus felt uncomfortable. One of them, the one with longish black hair and cool gray eyes was sitting next to him. The other with hazel eyes, glasses, and short black hair that stuck out at odd angles raised his eyebrows.

Remus looked back at the window and cleared his throat.

"We didn't ... mean to disturb you ..." said the long-haired one.

Remus smiled at them, "It's ... quite all right."

"Yeah, everywhere else was full ... don't look so scared. We're people ... just like you ... there are loads more people at the school ..."

The one closest to Remus rolled his eyes, "Ignore James, he thinks everyone who doesn't talk incessantly about Quidditch is an idiot. But really he's the idiot."

He winked and Remus grinned.

The one called James stuck his tongue out at the other, "Shut up, Sirius. Hope you're forced into Slytherin. I imagine their common room reeks of dung."

The boy, Sirius crossed his arms and pouted angrily, "Don't remind me. I'm praying to every religious figure I can think of ... mind you, I'm thinking of making a pact with the devil."

James and Remus laughed. James pushed his glasses up his nose (they'd been slipping) and said to Remus, "Most of his family's been in Slytherin, see ... it'll be lucky if he isn't."

He stretched out of the seat, "As for me ... I'm all set. Gryffindor on both sides. You?"

Remus nodded, "Same here."

Sirius frowned, "Lucky bastards ... I hate Slytherin ... the whole lot of them."

"Time for a subject change. Remember that idiot we hexed when he was boarding the train?"

"The SLIMY-haired one? Yes! Wouldn't hurry up so we made his trunk sprout legs and push him in! It was hilarious!"

"But the legs broke off," explained James to a grinning Remus. "Thing was heavy! Packed with dark arts books, I'll bet."

"How can you tell he was Slytherin?"

Sirius snorted, "EASY! Slimy hair, expressions like they've got dung stuck to their upper lip, it's obvious ..."

James reached into his trunk for something and pulled out a card deck, "Exploding Snap anyone?"

* * *

"Adams, Theodore."

Remus' head snapped up as he saw a blonde boy walk to the Sorting Hat nervously.

"Gryffindor!" announced the Hat.

Remus smiled and tried to catch Ted's eye but it was useless. He walked past without noticing his old friend.

"Barnes, Leandra," became the first Hufflepuff.

Then, "Black, Sirius."

Remus saw that the table next to Gryffindor's ... the Slytherin table, tensed.

Sirius walked up, pouting, and sat on the stool gripping it so hard his knuckles went white.

The hat seemed to be muttering something, "Ah ... a Black ... had a run-in with your cousin Bellatrix and her sister Narcissa a while ago ... they were in Slytherin as were your mother and father ... good strong will. Not a bad mind ... it's all here!"

Sirius closed his eyes tightly and shook his head violently.

"Sl-erm ... Gryiffindor!" called the hat.

Remus and James gave him the thumbs up as Sirius walked by looking relieved and haughty.

Remus watched as many others were sorted, waiting tense for his own turn.

Finally, "Lupin, Remus" was called. Remus sat down.

"Hah! What do we have here ... Lupin ... I remember him and your mother ... very strong mind ... set on excelling ... why this is obvious, GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus happily made his way to Sirius's side. He caught Ted's eyes across from him and smiled, but Ted just looked away, horrified.

Remus looked down at his plate and felt Sirius nudge him, "It's almost James!"

They watched as "Pettigrew, Peter" became a Gryffindor, then it was, "Potter, James"

The hat was on a second then it cried, "Gryffindor!"

Remus and Sirius high-fived him as he sat on Sirius' other side.

There were only a few left including a twitch, greasy-haired boy.

"Snape, Severus."

He watched twitchily, noticed Remus. He heard Sirius and James sniggering behind him, "That's the idiot! Look at him! He REEKS of Slytherin."

Obviously James was right. The hat had no sooner recognized Snape than yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

Remus smiled as he watched Snape walk to his table.

_'They can tell just like that ... I hope they can't tell ... what I really am ...'_

* * *

James led the way to the dormitories after the feast, "Hey! Sirius, Remus, we're in this one along with the Peter kid and some bloke named ... Adams, Theodore."

Remus tensed when he saw Theodore. He walked into the dormitory and tried to hide behind his four-poster, between the wall and Sirius' bed. It would've worked too, had not Sirius wrenched his curtains aside and grinned, "What're you doing? Putting away some girly knickers?"

Remus shook his head silently but Sirius laughed, "Oy, James, Lupin's got girly KNICKERS!"

"What're they playing at!" came a voice from the opposite end of the room.

Remus looked at Ted, who looked both angry and frightened.

"Hello Ted ..."

"I only return greetings from people, not THINGS ..."

Sirius saw Remus go stiff and pale-faced. His eyes were pleading with Theodore.

Sirius pouted, "Does he know something we don't, Remus?"

Remus looked at Sirius and shook his head quickly, "No ... of course not ... you know who I am ... Remus Lupin ... just Remus ..."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "You, Adams, why'd you call my friend a thing?"

Remus turned his head to look at Sirius with wide eyes, "F-friend ...?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and grinned, "Yes ... you know ... pals ... brothers ... amigos?"

Remus' eyes lit up.

Ted snorted, "I'd advise you to look people up before becoming their friends ..."

Sirius' wand was out and his pout was an angry one. His eyes were flashing, "Shut up Adams, or you'll have to pick your tongue up from the floor!"

"Meaning WHAT, Black!"

"Meaning shut your face or I'll hex your tongue off!"

Remus smiled at him, his eyes shining with tears, "Thank you, Sirius."

Ted just glared at them and made for the door, "Bet Dumbledore doesn't know, Remus. You'll be out of here by tomorrow once everyone knows what a FREAK you are."

Remus looked away, "And Nathan?"

"He's dead! And it's all your fault! His whole family! Murdered in one night! EVERYONE knows it's you, you-"

"Don't!"

Ted just walked out, slamming the door behind him. Sirius frowned at Remus who was getting ready for bed, "What was that about?"

"Nothing ... childhood ... stuff ... just ignore him."

Sirius backed away to his own bed but watched Remus closely until the lights went off.

The next day Theodore and all his things were gone. There were rumors his parents had him transfered to another school. Sirius was suspicious ... Remus was sad.

* * *

Remus thought the classes were actually quite interesting. Difficult, but interesting. It wasn't so much the subjects, but the danger of being in a class with The Marauders. It was a name James and Sirius had made up for themselves.

They'd trip you if you weren't looking in Potions class, so all the ingredients would spill onto the floor, sometimes a cauldron or two would be knocked over.

Explosions, toxic fumes, and experimentations with potions were not uncommon if you were in Potions class with James and Sirius. Nor was it uncommon to have to stand on your stool for the rest of the class for fear of getting melted or killed by the potions that so often flooded the classroom.

Professor Slughorn did not bother with detention, or any other kinds of punishment, he was too used to The Marauders to care anymore.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was easily the best subject in Hogwarts. Although, their teacher was obsessed with dark creatures, how to fight them and recognize them.

The Marauders were actually too interested in what the teacher had to say to cause any major mayhem ... or afraid he'd set a vampire on them, one of the two.

They usually had to work in groups of four to a table with a cage or tank containing some sort of wondrous creature or monstrosity. Remus enjoyed it immensely as he sat with The Marauders and Peter who had taken to following them around. Even though Pettigrew could sometimes annoy him, what with all his questions, Remus tolerated him as best he could.

Transfiguration though was a matter entirely different from Defense Against Dark Arts class. Professor McGonagall, though the head of Gryffindor, was strict and sometimes downright mean.

That's why when there was five minutes left to class and they'd all gone up to hand in the match they'd been trying to turn into a needle, Remus wasn't eager at all to return to his seat.

Remus nervously sat down and Sirius gave him thumbs up. Remus thought about what he was going to do and quickly took out his quill and began writing. He tore the scrap out, folded it up and threw it to Peter.

Remus' eyes widened as McGonagall raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Lupin, passing notes in class?"

The bell rang and she glared at them, "Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, remain in your seats."

Remus quickly turned to Sirius who was looking down at the scrap of paper that had been thrown to him as if willing it to disappear.

McGonagall strode over and snatched the paper, unfolding it quickly and looking at them both, "Let's see what was so important it couldn't wait until the end of class which was three seconds later!"

As she read, her eyes widened and she turned her back on them, "W-well ... off ... off you go ..."

Remus stuffed his things into his bag and left without so much as a glance at Sirius.

James was laughing his head off with Peter outside, "You ... idiot!"

James laughed harder when Sirius came out, hair over his eyes.

Remus brushedthe other'sbangs away, "Sirius?"

Sirius was white-faced as he looked at Remus. He held out something, a little square package.

James cracked up along with Peter and Sirius. Remus frowned and studied the tiny envelope, "What is it?"

The now three Marauders (counting peter after he'd thrown a dung bomb into Snape's cauldron) stared at him, "What PLANET are you from!"

Sirius pouted, "It's a condom, genius."

Remus blushed, "She thought ... she really ..."

Sirius turned red too, but laughed, "WHAT did you write!"

"What James told me ..."

James giggled madly, "I want you. I hate to keep you waiting and I've thought about what you said. Tonight, I'll let you screw me senseless, let you touch me 'till I come ..."

Sirius tackled James to the ground and Remus tried to not catch Peter's eye as he oggled at Remus, "You WROTE that ... to ME!"

"That was the plan! Now grab James before he becomes putty."

Remustook offreading glasses, put themsafely away andfound Sirius' arm, pulling him off James, "Sirius enough, it was just a joke."

"But now she thinks I'm a FAG! She thinks I'm going to ... do it with you ... JAMES STOP laughing!"

And that's how Remus became a Marauder.

A/N: How was that for a beginning? I'm not through with them as first years though, but I've got other plans for that.

So please review. "wink"


	2. Scroll 2: Transfiguration and Secrets

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 2: Transfiguration and Badly Kept Secrets

Remus Lupin yawned as he made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He saw James and Peter laughing and joking, and making fun of people, but Sirius was just poking at his food.

Remus walked over, shivering in his school uniform which was a bit worn and ripped in some places.

Sirius looked at Remus, and then quickly looked away. Lupin sat next to his friend, "Sirius?"

"Mm?"

Remus looked taken aback. Sirius had never given him a "Mm?" after a full moon before. He'd usually be worried and asking questions about his mother's health (Remus had told them all his mum was terribly sick and he went to see her every once and a while) and fussing over him.

"What's wrong, Sirius? Bummed out about the exams? I'm sure you did fine ... let's enjoy the last week ... oh, is that it?"

"I hate my house. I DON'T want to go back ... "

James suddenly turned to him, "Then stay with me! Go on, my parents won't mind! Peter and Remus can come over too."

Peter grinned, "Great!"

Sirius looked up at Remus expectantly. Remus smiled a bit, "I'll have to check with my mum and dad ... you know how they are ..."

Sirius looked a bit sad again, "Ah ... I see ... well anyway, my mum would probably chain me up to the wall before letting me stay at James' house."

They were all unhappy when the time came to board the train. They made the most of their short time left together by playing Exploding Snap and talking themselves hoarse.

Finally the train pulled into King Cross station and there was a scramble to get their trunks and file out.

Sirius rolled his eyes when he saw a rather thin woman with pale skin and long night-black hair. A smaller boy who looked a lot like Sirius waved at him.

"That, Remus, is my dear mum and my kid brother, Regulus."

James nudged them, "Your brother's kinda cute, reminds me of someone ... someone small and adorable."

Sirius poked him in the head, "Shut up! Well, got to get going ... bye James ... bye Remus ..."

Then Sirius leaned close to Remus, "Steer clear of wolfsbane, kay? I heard it kills."

Remus was left open-mouthed staring after Sirius who winked and turned away without a look back.

* * *

September 1; Hogwarts Express. 

Remus smiled as James and Sirius walked into the compartment Peter and he had found.

Sirius quickly sat down next to Remus and grinned, "How's it going? Not going to gasp and cry out anymore, right? We're just people after all ... "

"Shut up, Sirius!"

Something hit Sirius on the side of the head and he lunged at James, "Stop hitting me with that damn Muggle Ping ball!"

Peter laughed, "Ping-PONG ball."

Remus took out his half-lensed glasses without frames and continued reading his book, "I actually don't mind if James gets turned into putty, he so deserves it."

Peter nodded and they ignored James' yelps and pleads with smiles on their faces.

* * *

It's getting more and more obvious. The stupid excuses Remus was making, the missed classes in the morning, turning up later with a smile on his face, but scratched and wounded and obviously in pain. The limping, the groaning when he sat down. The way he'd get overly pale and easily annoyed just three days before he had to go 'see his mum' and he'd come back the next morning with a stupid excuse for his torn robes. 

Sirius wasn't stupid. Peter might have bought it, even James might have. But Sirius didn't. Sirius knew.

So when Remus hobbled up to the Infirmary after a full moon, robes completely torn off one shoulder, bleeding arms and scratches everywhere, he wasn't surprised to see Sirius at the door.

"What? Did your mum beat you up? Or was it your dad's owl?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

Remus frowned, "Sirius ... you mustn't tell ..."

"They already know ... we're not stupid ... okay, Peter didn't know until tonight. The point is me and James were waiting for you to tell us ... why didn't you! We're The Marauders! No secrets between us!"

Remus took a step forward and felt too weak to go on. He crumpled to the floor, into Sirius' arms.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius asked softly, holding Remus tight.

"I ... didn't want to lose my friends ... like before ..."

"We'd never leave you Remus ... I'd never ... we don't care ... we're not like that ..."

Remus winced as he looked up at Sirius, "But ... I'm a monster ..."

Sirius grinned, "You've just got a furry little problem, says James. I must say it gets pretty obvious when you PLS at us exactly three days before you go off to visit your mum, who looked in perfect health to me when you boarded the train ..."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "PLS?"

"Another one of James' inventions. Pre-Lunar Syndrome ... when you get all annoyed and stuff for the silliest things."

Remus grinned then gasped in pain, "Damn ... my leg ..."

Sirius put Remus' arm around his neck and helped him into the Infirmary. Madam Promfrey had been waiting as well. She jumped to her feet when she saw Remus.

"MY DEAR BOY!" she shrieked. "What did you do to yourself!"

Then she saw Sirius and gasped. She looked from Remus to Sirius, then back to Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Listen, Madam Promfrey, it's alright ... I know he sprouts fangs and howls incessantly at the moon once a month."

She gasped louder and led them to the four-poster farthest from the door.

"Here," she whispered and Sirius helped his friend in.

Madam Promfrey literally shoved Sirius out of the way and started bustling around Remus, dabbing ointments here and there, earning yelps of pain from Remus, bandaging wounds too tightly, earning more half-stifled yelps, and shoving a thick, dark substance down Remus' throat.

"Ack! Tastes like ... mud ..."

Sirius (finally) makes his way to Remus bedside and watched his drink the disgusting potion.

"How do you know what mud tastes like, wolfy?"

Remus stops in mid-gulp and glares at him, "I'm a werewolf ... it's my job to know."

"Right, if you say so."

Remus choked a bit, but finished the glass, "Ugh ... I can't wait to get out of here."

"Can you?"

"Yeah ... when Madam Promfrey tells me ..."

"Your uniform is ripped. If you want, I could get something else for you to wear ..."

"Would you? Thanks ..."

Sirius returned a few minutes later with Remus' clean uniform, "Here, I'll leave you to change."

Sirius began closing the curtains around Remus, but Remus stopped him, "Actually .. I'll need your help ... "

"Oh?"

"I won't be able to change on my own ... you know ...?"

"Er ... okay ... sure, I'll help."

Sirius sat next to Remus and helped his take off the robes, tie, and unbutton his much ripped shit.

"Wouldn't it be better if you got naked before you turned werewolf?"

Remus' eyes widened, He looked at Sirius, who was busy unbuttoning the clean shirt. He looked up and grinned when he saw Remus' face.

"Well, yeah, it'd safe you coming back looking like ... like this ..."

Remus reached for Sirius' wand and muttered, "_Vestments Reparum_. Now I just need to wash them."

He caught sight of Sirius' questioning face, "I'm NOT going to answer that!"

Sirius laughed and pulled off the other's shirt. He paused, looking at Remus' chest.

"My god ..."

_'So many ... scars ... and bruises ...'_

Remus blinked, "Sirius-"

"Huh? Oh ... here ..."

Sirius held up the clean shirt but Remus stopped him, "I'll just take a quick shower ..."

Biting his lip, Sirius watched him limp to the bathrooms.

_'We've got to help him ... I've got to find a way ...'_

* * *

Transfiguration Class; Third Year 

"Animagi are wizards or witches that can turn into animals at will."

Sirius' head snapped up when Professor McGonagall turned into a cat and back.

He threw his quill at James; it hit him on the head and he turned to Sirius, who was grinning.

James raised and eyebrow, but all Sirius did was give him thumbs up.

When the bell rang, Sirius dragged James out before anyone else.

"Did you hear the stuff about being an animagus!"

"Not really ... I was busy trying to catch Evan's eye."

"We could turn into animals!"

"WHY would we want to ..."

"We could do something more for Remus than just waiting for him at the Infirmary!"

"What, go with him?"

"Yes!"

James eyes lit up, he too nodded and grinned, "Okay ... we're on to something ..."

Remus and Peter caught up to them, "Why'd you leave so quickly!"

James opened his mouth eagerly, but Sirius stepped on his foot hard. James frowned and then raised his eyebrows, "Erm ... nothing ... eager to get to potions, you know!"

Sirius slapped a hand to his forehead and pulled Peter to tell him the plan, while James walked as slowly as possible with Remus, talking about everything and anything.

"So, wasn't that the most boring lesson-"

"What was Sirius telling you?"

"Um ... wow! Look at that ... the sun is unusually bring, isn't it?"

Remus looked over at Sirius and Peter who looked incredibly happy with themselves.

In potions, they sat at their regular table and Peter kept glancing at Remus. They three kept passing notes to one another, what seemed like planning to Remus.

_'I promised myself I'd never feel like this again ... but I can't ignore it ... I feel so left out ... maybe they're planning something on full moon, when I won't be there to get in their way ...'_

Sighing sadly, Remus turned to his cauldron and started on his potion, shutting out everything else.

_'In that case ... I won't care ...'_

* * *

A/N: Poor Remus ... feels left out ... has absolutely no idea that his friends are trying to help him. "wink" Review please! 


	3. Scroll 3: Potions and Sleeping Beauties

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 3: Potions and Sleeping Beauties

"Earth to Remus! I asked if you knew how to do the fifth Arithmancy problem!"

Remus glanced at Sirius and passed him his completed essay.

"Knock yourself out," with that Remus walked up to his dormitory.

Sirius frowned and followed.

He cornered Remus on the stairs, "Remus? What's up?"

Remus ignored him and pushed past.

Sirius grabbed his arm, "Remus! What is a matter with you!"

"Well, you obviously don't want me in you little plans, so there."

"What plans- oh ... James ... idiot!"

"Good-night."

"Remus, wait! We can't tell you ... because ... it's a surprise ... but I promise we'll tell you when we're done!"

Remus glared at him a moment, "I don't ..."

Then he sighed, "Promise to tell me when you're done ...?"

Sirius grinned, "I swear ..."

"Well ... " Remus looked at Sirius grinning stupidly. "Fine ..."

"Oh good, you can help us start the werewolves essay."

"Oh come on! Was that all you wanted me for!"

Sirius slung his arm around Remus, "Mate ... I will NOT answer that ..."

* * *

"The Basic Sleeping Draught is a simple potion that will cause the drinker to become increasingly drowsy, until he or she falls asleep. The draught is not powerful to cause lasting damage, as is with the Draught of Living Death, and the effects will wear off in ... say an hour or so for our recipe. So chop-shop, set up your cauldrons and get started."

Sirius sniggered, "Chop-chop ... heh. James ... these ingredients ... if we were to add a little Bicorn Horn and , say, accidentally forget the Wormwood ... substitute the Frog Spawn for Bobutuber Pods ..."

James grinned, but Remus frowned as he prodded the bottom of his cauldron with his wand to lower the flames to a simmering point.

"You're going to blow up another cauldron, are you?"

James smirked, "And you're going to help us ..."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because Slughorn has his eye on us and we need to distract him."

"I'm not going to help you cause any more mayhem in this class."

"Come off it! Peter's going to steal the Bicorn Horn, you've got to do SOMETHING!"

"Why?" asked Remus absentmindedly, chopping up daisy roots, enjoying the way James was getting more and more annoyed.

"Because it's what WE do! You're a Marauder and you've got to help us!"

"And what if I don't wish to be a Marauder anymore?"

"Then ... then ... " James looked around wildly for some answer.

Suddenly he looked back at Remus, smirking, "We'll tell everyone where you really go, on the special nights-"

"Alright, alright!"

Remus fumed as he walked to Slughorn's desk.

_'It's always me who has to distract ...'_

"Professor, I have a question."

"Yes? Let's hear it."

"Well, you see ... I have looked ahead in the book and ..."

Remus saw Peter sneak into the private stores out of the corner of his eye.

" ... and I have seen the Draught of Living Death uses Valerian Roots, not Daisy Roots. Does the type of roots you use affect the outcome of the potion? Or is it something else that differentiates the strengths?"

"Well you see, Remus m'boy, Daisy Roots are indeed ..."

Remus pretended to be listening intently (something he'd mastered by now), but his mind wandered.

_'Wonder if Sirius' idea will work ... but I doubt tying myself up to the bedposts will do any good ... all I'll do is break my four-poster. Being a werewolf has its upsides though ... James doesn't dare mess with me on PLS ...'_

Remus saw Peter sneak back out.

Professor Slughorn was droning on and on about the "importance of Wormwood and the Asphodel Root in combination ..."

He saw Sirius' motioning him to return to the table.

" ... to produce the sleep-inducing formula-"

"Professor Slughorn, you are absolutely right! I understand everything now, thank you."

Remus quickly walked back to their table, "What! I did what you wanted me to-"

"We're going to put the ingredients in and you have to prod flames into a higher temperature."

Remus stared at Sirius incredulously, "All you're doing is putting Bicorn Horn in and Bobutuber Pods-"

"At the exact same time ... me and James are doing that ... AND-," Sirius interrupter before Remus could interject. "Idiot Peter doesn't know HOW to regulate the flame's temperature ... unless of course you want to drop in an ingredient ... and possibly end up in detention ..."

Remus grumbled but nodded, "Tell me when ..."

He heard a 'plop' and, "Now."

Remus poked the fire to bring it to boiling point and there was a bang and a lot of smoke and there was nothing left of the cauldron but a shard of pewter, which Remus was still poking when Slughorn came to investigate.

"Remus Lupin! I would have expected better from you! And of course ... James and Sirius ... class mischief-makers ..."

Slughorn glared at the three of them, "Look at the roof! You've burned a hole up three floors!"

James and Sirius high-fived each other.

"This is not amusing! James, you will be working with Pettigrew. Stay at this desk. Sirius will be working with Sheckelbolt, move to his table. Lupin you will be working with ..."

Slughorn looked around for a solitary table, "A yes, of course. Severus Snape."

Sirius pretended to vomit and James grabbed Lupin's arm, "Please ... swear to me ... you will stay true to yourself! You will resist him! He will not poison you! Swear to me ... and please bathe before coming near us ... you might pick something up ..."

Lupin rolled his eyes as Sirius and a couple others laughed.

"So," began Remus cheerfully.

Snape looked up at him from his stringy hair with a dead look.

"Um ... I see you hang around with Lucius a lot ... what is he now? Seventh Year? I heard he's going out with Narcissa ... she's actually related to one of my-"

Snape ignored him and Remus cleared his throat. They worked in silence, occasionally glancing up at the board for ingredients.

Remus squinted at the last line, "It's sure hard to see from back here ... **Potion should now be **... **a lilac color** ..."

Remus frowned down at his potion, "Mine's still dark purple ... damn ... must've missed a step ..."

Remus looked over at Snape's cauldron. His potion was now the clear liquid it should be when the potion is finished.

Snape glared at Remus, who smiled weakly, "Sorry ... I ... sorry ... "

To his surprise, Snape peered down at his cauldron and curled his lip in disgust. He quickly cut up some roots, shredded some plants and threw them into Remus' potion. In a matter of seconds it was clear as water, just in time for Slughorn's inspection.

"Full marks to both!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow as his potion was pronounced, "Passable."

He later caught up to Remus at the bell, "He helped you didn't he!"

"What makes you say that?" asked Remus placidly.

"Because when you're sitting next to us you always miss a step, or do something wrong like any normal human being! You've never gotten any potion exactly right!"

Remus laughed, "You're so tactful."

"I'm just stating the facts."

James and Peter walked by, holding their noses, "UGH! Remus you smell like a Snape! _Scourgify!_"

Sirius helped Remus out of the huge mound of suds that covered him.

Peter looked over excitedly, "I heard Professor Flitwick talking about the Aquamenti Charm! I'll help get the soap out! _Aquameti!_"

Remus was suddenly hit by a cold spray of water. He glared at Peter through his bangs, "It's AGuamenti ... and we're not due to learn that until fifth year ... and don't you dare try to dry me!"

Peter hung his head as Sirius and James laughed until they cried.

James wiped his glasses, "We all know how that'd turn out. Ooh, ooh! I learned about the Incendio Maximus Charm! Remus goes Kaboom!"

Sirius grabbed on to Remus' tie to keep from falling, he was laughing so hard.

"Ahah hah," said Remus bitterly as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

They made jokes about Peter's accident until they saw someone unpleasant approaching their table.

"Oh look, Snivellus and Malfoy ... " grumbled Sirius.

Snape walked right up to Remus, "Due to your obvious inexperience on choosing friends ..."

Snape gestured to Sirius and James, "I do not think it wise for us to be working together or near each other ever again."

Snape put his hands in his pocket and waited for Remus' reaction.

But Sirius stood up before Remus could respond, "If you'd get the slime out of your ears you would've heard it was Slughorn who FORCED him to sit with you. Mind you it WON'T be happening again."

Snape smiled, lip curling, "Good."

With a nod Lucius motioned for Snape to follow him and they walked away together.

"The NERVE! Slimy son of a-"

Remus grabbed Sirius' tie, "Sit ... he's gone ... no use grumbling now."

"I'll get him ... you'll see ..."

Remus rolled his eyes and drank the rest of his pumpkin juice, "Let's go. We've got a werewolf essay waiting for us ... and I've got to leave early tonight ..."

Sirius nodded, "Got ya ..."

* * *

"So what kills a werewolf ...?"

Sirius sighed, "Wolfsbane, Peter ... obviously ..."

Remus yawned, " And silver's got something to do with it ..."

He yawned again, "Man ... so tired ..."

James frowned, "It's WAY too early to be tired ..."

"I know but ..." Remus yawned again, "I just am ..."

"So silver wards them off ...?" prodded Sirius.

"Yes and ..." Remus stifled a yawn, " ... if you st-stab ... one with a ... silver ... dagger ... they'll die ... too ..."

Remus rubbed his eyes, "God ... what's wrong with me ..."

Then it happened. Sirius had been expecting it because he knew exactly what was wrong with Remus.

Remus slumped sideways from the chair onto Sirius, who caught him.

"He's asleep ... "

James' eyes widened, "Oh ... right ... Sleeping Draught ... but who-?"

"Snape. When he gestured to us I saw a few drops of clear liquid fall into Remus' glass ... then he put the vial in his pocket ... I saw ..."

"Why didn't you tell us ...?"

"Because I didn't think I was right! I though if Snape HELPED Remus ... maybe he likes him ... obviously I was wrong ..."

Peter's lower lip trembled, "Sirius ... look at the time ... "

"Nine ..."

"And tonight is ..."

Sirius' eyes widened, "Shit ... furry little problem ..."

James bit his lip, "Hospital Wing ..."

"Right."

Sirius looked down at Remus' unconscious form and picked him up, carrying him bridal style.

A lot of Gryffindors stared at them as they made their way out of the Common Room. Sirius merely glared at them and promised each a hex.

Finally, after many stares and hoots, they reached the Infirmary.

"Madam Promfrey! We need an Awakening Draught!"

Madam Promfrey gasped, "He should be at the Shrieking Shack!"

"There's a bit of a PROBLEM! He's been slipped a Sleeping Draught!"

Madam Promfrey bustled about and finally found the potion they needed. Sirius bit his lip and waited at the foot of the bed with James and Peter.

They heard a groan and Remus opened his eyes.

"Yes! Remus ... you have to go ... Shrieking Shack ... now ..."

Remus looked at them drowsily, "Huh ...?"

Sirius cursed out loud and seized Remus' arm. James grabbed his other arm and together they helped Lupin out.

James frowned, "Wait here, I'll go get my cloak ..."

"Hurry ... or he'll go haywire furry on us ... "

It seemed as if James was gone forever for Peter and Sirius, who tried to talk sense into his friend to no avail.

"Finally!" was James' greeting when he returned.

They all squeezed in and thankfully made it out without a problem.

It was in the Womping Willow's passage that Remus fell to the floor, rigid, growling ... turning obviously ... into a werewolf ...

Sirius fell to his knees in front of him and cupped his face, turning it upwards, "Remus, please ... just a bit farther ... "

He wrapped his arms around Remus and helped him up the stairs. It was there Remus savagely threw Sirius off and tried to bite him. Sirius pushed him through the trapdoor and ran off, back to Peter and James.

"RUN! He's nearly-"

A loud howl made them move a bit faster, "Wrong ... he's turned ..."

Back at the Common Room Sirius found himself thinking of Remus and how they'd left him all alone, to bear the pain by himself ...

He found Peter and James staring at him and smiling.

"There's nothing funny! Remus is all alone in that old shack ... biting off chair legs and scratching at himself ..."

Sirius bit his lip, "Let's try to hurry this Animagus thing along ... Remus needs us, okay?"

James clapped his hands together and demanded to Peter, "Pay up!"

Peter did, sourly, and tossed James two Galleons.

"Made a bet," explained James. "I said, I'll bet you the next time he speaks he'll use Remus' name ... a Galleon for each time ..."

Sirius frowned, "What are you ... saying ...?"

Peter and James looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Remus please ... just a bit farther ..."

Peter fell into James' arms, who caught him, "Yes love ... let's leave Peter and James and go snog I a more private place ..."

"WE DID NOT SNOG! In case you didn't notice, Remus was turning into a WEREWOLF! He tried to BITE me!"

James took off his glasses and pocketed them safely, "Ooh ... kinky ..."

Sirius leapt at James with a growl. Peter, used to this by now, only watched as James was pummeled by Sirius.

"Serious and Loony Lupin, sitting in a tree s-n-o-g-i-n-g. Kinky love-"

The rest was muffled by Sirius' fist.

* * *

A/N: Yeah it's getting more and more lovey dovey. "wink" Any ideas, comments?

Please Review!


	4. Scroll 4: These Feelings I Get

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 4: These Feelings I Get

Remus was greeted by a strange sight as he entered the Great Hall, new patches on his robes.

Professor Slughorn was holding Snape back from ... Sirius, who was giving Hagrid a hard time holding him back.

They were shooting hexes at each other clawing at their captors.

Remus ran over, "Sirius! What are you doing!"

Sirius' eyes flashed and he aimed a curse, it seemed, at Remus!

"_Protego!_"

Remus whipped around to see the Shield Charm had just deflected Snape's Jelly-Legs Jinx.

Remus smiled at Sirius who grinned back, "Thanks ... "

"This is an OUTRAGE!" cried professor McGonagall. "Sirius Black, you have detention!"

"THAT ISN'T FAIR! That SLIMEBALL, Snape, spiked Remus' drink with Sleeping Draught! If anything he should be EXPELLED!"

McGonagall's eyebrows raised, "You expect me to believe that load of-"

"Madam Promfrey will tell you ..." said Remus softly. "I almost didn't make it in time ... "

McGonagall's eyes widened again, "I shall see to it ... and if you're telling the truth ... Mr. Black will not have detention ... although Mr. Snape WILL!"

Hagrid released Sirius only when Snape was gone. Sirius, who had a cut lip and bloody nose, grumbled, "I was beating him too ..."

James high-fived him, "Shoulda seen the slime-ball ... comes over smirking ... asking if the Sleeping Beauty had awoken yet ... "

"But I got him good! That black eye will last! And I think I broke his nose ... I'm getting good at that ..."

James grinned, "Got lotsa practice ... on me ..."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy leans back in his chair as Snape nurses his broken nose, "Good job Severus ... we've found out all we need ..."

Snape looks up and grins, "By tomorrow they'll be the laughing-stock of the school ..."

"Indeed ..."

* * *

"Listen, I don't know why I did it, okay Peter? Now let me through the portrait hole!"

Peter shook his head quickly, "No! You ... I have something to show you ... in here ... inside the Common Room ... where it's safe ..."

"Safe from what?" asked Remus as he came down the stairs.

Sirius whipped out his wand, "Move, now."

Peter scampered out of the way. As Sirius and Remus climbed out, they were met by the sight of James frantically blasting what looked like posters off walls and classroom doors. The posters only stuck themselves back on. Remus frowned and approached a poster stuck on a broom closet.

"Oh dear ..."  
  
**Secret Homosexual Affair in Gryffindor Tower**

**As was yesterday proved by two Slytherin students, the rather dim-witted Gryffindor, Serious Black has been having a secret affair with Remus Lupin, also of the Gryffindor House.**

**"They are inseparable," says a reliable source. "It's like they're joined at the hip."**

**"It's sickening," says Severus Snape, one of their classmates. "They flirt ALL the time in classes. Everybody knows it, only they don't want to make it public."**

Remus blushed a fierce red and walked into the Great Hall determined to not catch anyone's eye.

He didn't notice who was sitting next to him until Peter sniggered, "So, is it true?"

On his other side, he felt an arm behind him and Sirius' voice, "I swear to god, I'll hex you!"

James laughed on Sirius' other side, "Come on, it's something stupid, who's going to believe it?"

But even as they looked around, there were people pointing and sniggering, quoting the posters at random.

Without looking at him, Remus spoke to Sirius, "Who do you suppose did it?"

"Snape ... and his boyfriend Lucius ... but I'm going to get him back ... you'll see ..."

They ate in silence for a while, then Remus spoke again without looking at Sirius, "Maybe we shouldn't ... hang around a lot anymore ... it might ... arouse suspicion ..."

Sirius grabbed his tie, forcing him to look up, "What?"

"I mean people will start to talk-"

"So!"

"Don't you think-?"

"No!"

"What if you never get a girl to d-?"

"I don't care!"

"And people already-"

"Why do you care!"

Remus looked at his hands, "I don't ... I just though ... you might-"

"No. I don't give a damn. You're my friend, we hang around ... and if we're going to be talked about ... well ... I'm sexy ... you're good-looking ... let them have their fantasies."

Remus blushed crimson and shoved food into his mouth to have an excuse to not speak.

James cleared his throat loudly and Peter giggled.

The next morning, the posters were replaced by a rather unflattering caricature of (unmistakably) Snape and Lucius kissing fiercely.

Sirius and Remus gave Snape a particularly pleasant welcome when he sauntered into their Potions Class.

"Alright there Snivelly?"

Snape glared at Sirius.

"It'll die down ... " muttered Remus.

Snape glared at him too.

James high-fived them both, "Wicked awesome!"

* * *

Fourth Year; February 13

"No."

James glared at Sirius, "Why not! I've got it all worked out! A four-way date is the only way to get Evans to notice me!"

"James ... read my lips ... Nnnnnnnooooooo."

"Please! You're the only one who can convince Remus!"

"I don't want to go on a date YOU set me up with!"

"Come on ... it's the Smith girl ... and I set Peter up with Marielda, and Remus with Chelsie ... come on! Please ... Donna's not a bad looker!"

"Fine! I'll go ... but you owe me! Peter actually agreed!"

"Yeah well ... if he doesn't want to be left hanging from the ceiling by Levicorpus ... all I need is for you to convince- ah, Remus. You're here. Sirius wants to talk to you."

Remus had just come back from the library, "Yes?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and whipped out his wand, "You're coming on a four-way blind date with us. Or else."

Remus frowned, "Excuse me?"

"James wants Evans to actually look his way ... so he arranged four girls including Evans to date us ... for tomorrow ... Hogsmeade ..."

Remus blinked, "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day ..."

Sirius nodded and lowered his wand, "Yeah well, James convinced me and I'm to convince you ..."

Remus put his books down and pointed his wand at Sirius, "And if I don't wish to go?"

Sirius grinned and ran a hand through his hair, "Then I'll have to get persuasive ..."

"Oh?" Remus approached him slowly. "How so?"

Sirius pounced on him, throwing him onto James' bed. He pinned Remus' arms above his head, "Like this ..."

Remus smiled up at him, "_Petrificus Totalus._"

Sirius crashed on top of Remus who groaned.

"Ah! Damn I forgot ..."

"ACK!" cried James. "NOT ON MY BED! _Finite Incantem!_ Jeez ... go do your kinky things in the bathroom or something ..."

Sirius growled at James, "Shut up or we're not going."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think WE are going ..."

Sirius grinned again and slung his arm around Remus, "Don't ... even ... go there."

So there they were. In the Three Broomsticks. Boys on one side, girls on the other.

"So ..." began James, his eye on Lily Evans.

"So ..." continued Sirius, trying to not catch Donna's eye.

Remus looked at his 'date', Chelsie, and gave her an embarrassed smile, which she returned.

Sirius looked even more annoyed.

There was a very uncomfortable silence as they sat there sipping their drinks.

Finally Remus sighed, "Um ... I'm going to get another drink, anyone want something?"

Lily stood up, "No in fact ... we have to go ..."

The girls all rose with her and left, leaving the boys staring after them.

Sirius suddenly started laughing, "James ... you're going to kill me, aren't you?"

But James was staring at the table, a smile on his face, "She talked to me ... wow ..."

Sirius shook his head, silently.

Later in their dormitory

Remus turned in his bed for what must have been the fifteenth time and found Sirius' bed empty.

He sat up and looked around, "Sirius?"

The door opened and Sirius walked in, laden with candy and food.

"_Muffliato! _Remus! Wake Peter up, you know how he is. JAMES! OY JAMES!"

All of Gryffindor Tower would have hear had it not been for the Muffling Charm.

"I've got food! Nicked it from the kitchens, can you believe it! House elves running around fetching me all sorts of these delicious ... yumm!"

Within seconds they were all digging in, except Remus who frowned.

"You were out after hours? Sirius, you could have gotten into a lot of trouble-"

Then all of a sudden, Sirius was face to face, noses almost touching. His eyes flashed.

"Listen Remus John Lupin ... "

Suddenly he grinned and shoved a Pumpkin Pastry into Remus' mouth, " ... and eat!"

Remus watched as Sirius turned away and began a food fight with James. He barely noticed the sounds of laughter and candy and food hitting the walls and ceiling ... his heart was pounding too loud because of what should have, could have, and would have happened had James not been there.

_'He would have ... and I ... I wouldn't have stopped him ... and that scares me ... it scares me a lot ...'_

Sometimes I don't know ... I want them ... but I hate them ... these feelings I get ...

* * *

A/N: Yay! We're getting more and more shonen-ai! Baby steps, baby steps ppl! Sirius is such a difficult character! Argh ... I do hope I'm keeping him in character "sweatdrop"

Anyway "grin" R&R PLZ!


	5. Scroll 5: Fifth Year Mayhem

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 5: Fifth Year Mayhem

"Aubrey, Bertram," said Professor McGonagall, in her short, clipped way.

Remus watched interestedly as the Sorting began. Aubry was a haughty boy with straw-colored hair.

"Slytherin," muttered James.

"Slytherin!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

"How do you know this?"

"Remus, mate ... we know. Why were you late on the train? Did you have other plans before meeting us?"

"Well ..." Remus looked at his plate. Then he looked at the other first years, "Oh look, I bet he's a Gryffindor!"

Sirius frowned, _'That was obvious he doesn't want to talk about it ...'_

"Austin, Michael."

"Hufflepuff!"

Remus caught the eye of a strangely familiar boy with cold gray eyes. The boy gave him a look of horror and retreated into the crowd of first years.

"Black, Regulus."

Remus felt Sirius turn away and stare at his plate.

"Sirius? You didn't tell us ... Regulus was coming to Hogwarts. It'll be fun ... why wasn't he in our compartment?"

"Slytherin!"

Remusspun aroundquickly and watched, eyes wide, as Regulus Black walked to the Slytherin table, taking a seat in front of Snape.

"Sirius?"

"I don't want to talk about it ... ever."

With that, Sirius went back to staring at his plate, his hair falling onto his face, hiding him from view.

"So where why'd you come to our compartment thirty minutes late?"

Remus bit his lip and stared at him plate too. He silently took out a small object from inside his robes and slid it to Sirius.

Sirius looked up with interest at the scarlet badge, lined with gold; with the Gryffindor emblem and a shiny golden "P" on it.

James stifled his laughter as best he could as the Sorting continued and Peter's eyes widened so much they threaten to fall out of their sockets.

"Oh ... my ... god ..."

* * *

The taunts he had expected, yes, when he had gotten his Prefect's Badge. He had not wanted it, not at all, but as Dumbledore had explained when he'd tried to give it back, he wanted Remus to try and exercise a bit more ... control over his friends.

Quoting Sirius, "No god-damn way!"

He was one of the Marauders, one of the trouble-makers.

But now, he was a prefect.

What a difference that made in the minds of Sirius Black and James Potter. Suddenly Remus wasn't Moony. Suddenly he wasn't the dangerous, bad-ass werewolf ... the quiet, reserved boy, whom they were convinced was hiding "the madness within."

No. Suddenly he was The Prefect. The good-boy. The disgrace. The PERFECT Lupin. Suddenly he was once again ... the outsider.

And Remus hated it.

He'd finally found true friends at Hogwarts. Friends he thought would never leave him, never shun him.

He was wrong. And he hated it. James and Sirius now for the most part ignored him when planning their next pranks. They sometimes mocked him by pretending to be afraid of him, afraid of the points he might dock from Gryffindor for plotting revenge against _'Snivellus.'_

But he'd never do that, and he knew it. But it wasn't good enough because Sirius and James didn't.

Peter for the most part, still talked to him. He was the one person he could count on ... well ... Peter was always there to copy Remus' homework, anyway ... and cheat off tests ... but it was something.

As he was working on his essay for Slughorn's potion class, something hit him on the back of the head. He turned quickly and saw a note on the floor.

He snatched it, irritably, from the floor and opened it up. There in the rather round handwriting that was Sirius' were the words:

_Loony Loopy Lupin, the PERFECT prefect._

Remus' eyes narrowed. He stood up, slamming his books closed and strode over to the table where Sirius and James sat laughing. Peter was grinning too, but stopped when he saw Remus.

James' eyes widened and he threw himself at the table, "Quick Sirius, hide the secret plans for the weapons of mass destruction, or Lupin will write to our mums!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Come off it, Lupin wouldn't dare knock points off Gryffindor for US."

Remus glared at them, "Oh wouldn't I!"

James put his hands in the air in an attitude of submission, "Oh PLEASE don't give us detention! Oh Sirius, I think I see an actual personality brewing in Remus' eye! What can we do to redeem ourselves? Should we bow?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and glared at Remus, "Well? Do you WANT us to bow!"

Remus looked very white, paler than usual. His lips were thin, eyes flashing.

"Five points from Gryffindor," said Remus quietly.

Sirius laughed, "Ooh, big scary man! Taking off five points!"

"For the three of you," continued Remus.

Sirius' mouth dropped open, "You're insane!"

Without another word, Remus walked out of the common room, leaving his books on the table.

_'I can't go to the dormitory now ... they'll be there.'_

He heard the portrait swing open again and he whirled around to face Sirius, looking angry.

"WHAT the hell was that about!"

"You're out after hours," began Remus.

"Oh so now that you've got a nice shiny badge, you've decided you have the BALLS to stand up to someone!"

"You're just jealous! James is on the Quidditch team, and I'm prefect! You're jealous! That's ALL!"

"That's not MUCH to be jealous of, Remus!"

"I'm going to take points off!"

"I bloody DARE YOU! See if you don't get a black eye for it."

"Five more points off."

Sirius looked as if he'd really have punched Remus. Instead he merely glared at Sirius and shoved past him.

"You're out after hours, Sirius."

Sirius acted as though he didn't hear Remus and kept walking away, "Go howl at the moon."

Remus stepped back as if Sirius had indeed punched him. A thousand punches would have been better than that single, cruel remark.

Tears stinging his eyes, he walked back into the common room, pushing past Peter and James and making his way into their dormitory and into bed.

He didn't sleep, but pretended to be asleep.

_'It hurt ... what he said ... it really hurt ...'_

He heard Peter and James go into bed soon after, but it was hours before the rustle of sheets just next to him announced Sirius' return.

"You've been out a long time."

"What's it to you! Going to dock some MORE points!"

"What you said was mean ..."

"You've got no right to give a damn where I've been, hell even my mum doesn't."

Remus pulled the covers up higher, "What I said was mean too ... I didn't mean it."

"So next time mind your own damn business, Mr. Prefect."

"Are you even LISTENING to me!"

"No. Good-night."

Remus turned away from Sirius, facing the wall next to his bed.

_'Now he's mad at me ...'_

Then just as Remus was thinking of closing his eyes, he heard a rustle. Was it wings? Maybe leaves ...

Then he felt something slip into his bed, smoothly, and wrap an arm around his waist.

Remus tensed, "James, I swear to god I'll hex you if trying to pull something."

"It's not James. It's me," came Sirius' reply.

Remus smiled despite himself, "What you said was really mean ..."

"Yeah well ... can you EVER forgive me ... or do you REALLY want me to bow to you? 'Cause I will ..."

Remus rolled over, finding himself closer to Sirius than was comfortable.

Sirius just smiled and Remus smiled back.

"So all is forgiven and forgotten, Sirius?"

"Yeah ... so forgotten, I've forgotten what we were talking about.."

"Oh Sirius ... be serious," said Remus with a wink.

"Shut UP, both of ya!" came James' voice from behind his four-poster. "No more boy-love!"

Remus blushed and turned away quickly. He expected Sirius to go to his own bed, but the arms that held him close to Sirius' body didn't budge.

"Night Remus ..."

"G-good-night ... Sirius ..."

* * *

"So ... any news from your brother?"

Sirius stabbed at his toast, "Every day you ask the same thing, Peter! And every day I tell you not to!"

Remus joined them at the table, looking shabby after the full moon, but happy, "Good-morning all. So how's Regulus, Sirius?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Peter frowned, "How come you don't yell at him!"

"Do you WANT to be hung by your ankle, Peter!"

"Sorry ..." was all he said.

"Hey look, it's _Snivellus_! Let's corner him in the Entrance Hall!"

They all ran out and watched as James followed Snape, carefully stepping on his robes. Snape turned around furiously.

"Oh, it's you, Potter!"

"Yes it's me. I've been noticing you're getting buddy-buddy with Regulus and Bertram ..."

"That's none of your business!" said Snape, making to draw out his wand.

But James was quicker. In a flash Snape was hanging in the air from his ankles.

"We've been working on some of our own spells ... you know ... our signature curses. So here goes, _Snidgus Pugno!_"

Three Golden Snitches came out of nowhere and started zooming at Snape, who could do nothing but try to bat them away. A crowd had gathered to laugh at their antics.

Sirius stepped out, wand raised, "My turn. _Canis Lingua!_"

Snape growled at him and pointed his wand at them, upside-down. He opened his mouth to jinx them and let out a loud bark.

The crowd laughed as Snape continued barking. His wand fell down uselessly.

Peter giggled and pointed his wand at Snape, "_Slymeus Regnum!_"

Slime covered Snape instantly, dripping onto the floor. He gagged as he tried to shout, swallowing a whole load of slime.

Remus stepped forward and Sirius grinned at him, "This is going to be good."

Remus managed a weak smile as he fingered his Prefect's Badge. He raised his wand.

"_Vestments Unfurlum,_" said Remus.

Snape's clothes seemed to unravel, thread by thread, until the whole lot fell to the floor, leaving Snape only in his boxers.

James' mouth dropped open and he accidentally let Snape down. Snape crashed to the floor in a heap. Everyone was laughing hysterically.

James rushed over to Sirius and Remus, "How the bloody hell-! THAT WAS WICKED! That was so cool!"

Remus fingered his Prefect's Badge again, "Mmm ..."

They heard footsteps. Professor McGonagall walked over, her face white, lips pursed.

"Detention, for the four of you! Yes Mr. Pettigrew, I saw you!"

Sirius sighed, "Professor ... it was just a joke ..."

"You- you ... dare say it was just a joke Mr. Black ... I .. well, I can't say I'm surprised by you and Mr. Potter ... but Mr. Pettigrew! And ..."

McGonagall looked at Remus with a disappointed look, "A prefect ..."

She shook her head sadly, "Eight o' clock tomorrow. No excuses!"

Remus walked over to Snape, "Sorry ... you want me to fix that?"

Snape glared at him and searched for his wand in the pile of slime, threads, and Snitches.

"_Vestments Reparo_. Here," Remus handed a now fully clothed Snape, his wand.

Snape snatched it as Remus cleaned up the rest of the pile.

He made slashing motions at Remus, who was thrown back, bleeding from a slash at his chest.

Sirius was on Snape in a second, "_Relashio!_"

Snape was thrown back by the jet of sparks. He retaliated, but Sirius dodged.

Professor McGonagall was outraged, "Stop! Detention Mr. Snape! I SAID STOP!"

Hagrid and Slughorn had to once again intervene.

Sirius watched as James took Remus to the Hospital Wing. He struggled with Hagrid, "Let me go! I need to help him! LET ME GO!"

Professor McGonagall shook her head, "Such violence will not be tolerated-"

"I DON'T CARE! I HAVE TO HELP REMUS!"

"Fifty points from Gryiffindor!"

That shut Sirius up at once.

"And twenty from Slytherin. I expect the five of you in my office tomorrow."

* * *

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Sirius, I am ... we have detention, I couldn't stay."

"But that old bat has to understand that you miss detention because you're BLEEDING to death."

"I am not bleeding to death, though. Am I?"

"Hey, if I had an excuse, I'd miss detention," said James knowledgeably.

"Well, I'm not."

They walked into McGonagal''s office.

"Good evening gentlemen. You will be filing papers."

Snape was already there. The Marauders looked at a huge stack of papers that seemed to reach the ceiling.

"Bloody hell ..." said Peter weakly.

"I have a plan," whispered James as they divided the stack.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "With you 'plans' we'll just end up in deeper shit."

"Listen! All you and Remus-"

"No," said Remus. "I'm not doing anything-"

"-have to do is-" continued James, ignoring Lupin.

"Didn't you hear me? I said no."

"-pretend you're really horny and itching to get inside each other's pants."

There was a ringing silence as they took James' words in.

"No way in hell," said Remus finally.

"Okay," agreed Sirius.

"Gentlemen! This is a silent activity," said their teacher.

Remus took his place away from the rest, away from Sirius.

Sirius, though, had other plans. He walked behind Remus, bumping onto him.

"Mmm ... I'd like to get my hands on that ..."

McGonagall looked up just as Sirius licked Remus' ear. She quickly looked away.

When she looked up again, Sirius was stroking Remus' thigh. Remus looked very hot and bothered.

She looked to James, for some sign that she was imagining everything and saw to her surprise, he was reading the papers.

"Mr. Potter, this is filing not research."

James tapped the papers with his wand, and whispered, "_Scritura_ _Doblos_."

He folded the copy up and stuck it in his pocket.

Sirius giggled, causing McGonagall to look up. Sirius was holding a blushing Remus close, running his fingers through the boy's hair.

Minerva McGonagall pressed her hand to her mouth, "That will be all ... good-bye all of you. Leave ... now ..."

Snape left quickly. The Marauders high-fived each other when they were outside, "That was brilliant! Stupendous!"

Remus and Sirius walked as far away from each other as they could. When they got to Gryffindor Tower, James pulled Remus into their dormitory and locked him in, "We'll unlock you later ... we've just got some ... er Gryffindor business to attend to."

"But I AM in Gryffindor."

"Erm ... non-prefect Gryffindor business. We'll be right back!"

Remus turned the knob furiously, "_Alohomora! Alohomora!"_

_'Wonder what they're up to ... wonder if I want to know ... '_

* * *

A/N: We're starting to see more interaction ... more shonen-ai. And what are James, Peter, and Sirius up to now ...?

Dun! Dun! Dun! Please review "wink"


	6. Scroll 6: Animagi

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 6: Animagi

"What was that about, James?" asked Sirius in a bored voice as he sat near the fire. The common room was completely deserted, except for them.

"I found it! It was as if McGonagall practically handed me the answer!"

Sirius yawned, "The point is ...?"

"The papers! That we were filing! Transfiguration!"

Sirius and Peter stared at him blankly.

James grinned and said in a whisper, "I found the way to become Animagi!"

Sirius sat up at this, "What? How!"

James help up the paper he had copied and swiped from their teacher's office, "That answer your question?"

Sirius snatched it from him and studied it, "Wow! This is great! It's a list! It's practically ... plain instructions!"

Peter scanned the page with his watery eyes and pointed at two letters scrawled on the bottom right corner of the page.

"R.S.? Who's that?"

Sirius grinned, "Who cares! We've practically got this in the bag! Let's try right now!"

"First we have to pick what animals we want to turn into," said James knowledgeably. "Then we can turn into them at will ... but you know ... less powerful wizards have to use wands ... you know ... all the time."

Peter frowned, "You mean me, right?"

"So let's get started!"

"Right," began James. "I've been thinking it over and I want to be something you know ... cool ... like a lion or something."

Sirius bit his lip, "I'm picking either a wolf or dog."

James gave Peter a meaningful look, "Thought so ..." James looked Peter up and down, "You remind me of ... something ... twitchy and sneaky ... like a spider ..."

"A rat," said Sirius.

"Yeah! A rat! It'll be easy to prod the knot with me a rat!" said Peter happily.

"Right so this is the spell for rats ..." Sirius looked down the page, " Here's for wolves ... _Canis Lupus_ ..."

"Hey, won't you be too wild? If we're trying to handle two wild wolves ... it might be too much for a rat and a stag ..." James asked, frowning.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Stag? Like ... what's that thing ... Bambi?"

Peter giggled and high-fived Sirius, while James rolled his eyes and looked up the spell.

"So yeah, I've been thinking of a name for me as a dog. How's Padfoot?"

Peter nodded, "We should all have them ... if I'm a rat I could be ..."

"I'm Prongs ... you could be ... Wormtail!"

"Yeah ... we should think of one for-"

"What are you up to?" said a voice from the staircase. It was Remus.

James hid the list behind his back and he pressed together with Peter and Sirius to hide it.

"We ... we're not up to ... anything!" said Peter in his squeaky voice.

"We swear," James piped up, trying to sound casual.

"Solemnly," finished Sirius.

Remus raised an eyebrow skeptically, "You're lying ... obviously ... you're up to no good as usual."

Sirius looked around for a change of subject, "So ... er ... erm ... how'd you get out of the dormitory!"

"Let's just say ... there's a door that needs some serious repair upstairs."

"Heh ... heh ..."

"So, what's that behind your back?" said Remus while approaching them.

Sirius blocked Remus, "Nothing."

"Sirius ... don't lie ..."

"Really ... I'm not ... why don't ... we all turn in!"

Sirius spun Remus around and pushed him to the stairs, "We'll catch up!"

Remus turned around, "Why won't you tell me? What is it you are scheming!"

"We're not scheming!"

Remus frowned, "I demand you tell me!"

"When's the next full moon?" asked James suddenly.

Remus glared at him, "In a day or so."

Sirius' eyebrows raised, "Ah ..."

"Ah ..." repeated Peter.

"Hmm ..." said James.

Remus whipped around and started up the stairs, "Never mind! If you won't tell me, fine! I won't give a damn!"

Sirius let out a sigh, "P.L.S. Poor fellow ..."

The next two days passed quickly. Too quickly for the three boys. They spent every moment they could practicing the spells. They stayed up until sunrise, but still they couldn't manage it. Then all too soon, Remus had gone to the Whomping Willow and everything was a mess.

"If only we had time turners!" said James, flinging his long list of incantations and calculations into the fire. He was so desperate he'd even tried, _'Bambi Morphus!'_, with no luck.

Sirius threw his wand in the air and caught it, "I feel ... so bad ... "

"On the bright side, we have another month to practice!" said Peter.

James nodded, "We should do out homework ... that thing about types of spells. It's rubbish really, we're not going to deal with them until sixth year but ..."

James flicked through his spell-book, "There's those weird combination-jinxes and counter-curses, nonverbal spells, conjuring stuff out of thin air ... hey, let's sneak into Remus' room and copy his essay!"

Sirius was staring at him, grinning hugely, "JAMES!"

James backed away, "What!"

"JAMES!"

"Okay, I'm sorry! Miranda DID want to go out with you but I told her you were already taken! I'll go and tell her I lied! I'm sorry!"

"JAMES!"

"I SAID SORRY! Her boobs are tiny anyway! You weren't interested in THAT-"

Sirius grabbed James' shoulders, "I LOVE YOU!"

James blinked, "Okay, Peter ... the dog thing went to his head and he drank out of the toilet didn't he?"

Peter laughed and Sirius grabbed his spell-book and thrust it at James' face.

"Ow! My nose-okay! I got it! We do the essay now!"

"JAMES!"

James backed away, "Peter, hand me a ... a brick or something ... Sirius has rabies!"

"JAMES LOOK! READ!"

James cautiously took the book and read the sentence Sirius was pointing to, "Erm ... Next, non-verbal spells, which are incantations not uttered aloud, but though-OH!"

Peter looked from James to Sirius, "Oh what?"

"It's non-verbal!"

James frowned and suddenly turned into a stag. Peter gave a squeak.

Then Sirius turned into a massive black dog.

They turned back, "Go on Peter! With your wand ... it's okay ..."

They grinned in unison as Peter turned into a small, scrawny rat.

"The Marauders are back in business!"

* * *

Remus sighed as he sat in the small room of the Shrieking Shack. He studied his hands. 

_'Still human ...'_

Seconds passed slowly. He lied down.

_'Nothing yet ... must have a little less than an hour to go ...'_

Then he felt the pains in his back, like a heartbeat. They grew stronger until he cried out and curled up on the bed.

He heard voices. Footsteps.

_'I'm going mad ... or maybe it's just the transformation ...'_

"Think he's gone hairy yet?"

"I don't hear anything being ripped apart, my guess would be no."

_'I've gone mad ... I could swear that was Sirius and James ...'_

Remus heard the creak of the trap door. He sat up, gasping in pain.

Sure enough, there were footsteps coming up the stairs, then his three friends burst in.

"Surprise!"

Remus stared at them, "What ... get out! I'll go ... wolf any second now!"

Suddenly Sirius disappeared.

Remus blinked his eyes rapidly, "What the- where's Sirius-?"

He felt something warm and wet on his hand. He looked down to see a great big dog licking it.

"What the hell!"

Remus turned to James and Peter to find that they were gone as well. In their place was a stag and a rat.

_"I have totally lost it ...'_

"Wait a minute ..."

Remus did a double take as the dog ran his paw through the fur on his head.

_'Sirius does that ... and that stag has ... markings 'round his eyes ... '_

"James! Sirius! PETER!"

With a laugh they turned into themselves.

"What in- how did- " Remus was speechless.

Sirius slumped onto the bed and stretched out beside Remus, "Whenever you decide to speak clear English ... we'll be ready."

Remus pouted and was about to speak when the pain came again, in pounding waves.

Sirius sat up when he saw Remus twitching and pale, "Remus ...?"

Sirius walked away from Remus to James and Peter as they witnessed the transformation.

Remus' face was scrunched up in pain as hair sprouted and thickened, and his bones lengthened. He gasped as his hands too grew and claws cut through his fingers like daggers.

Tears streamed down his face as his teeth grew, in his mouth, into razor-sharp fangs

Remus threw his head back with a whimper of pain that grew into a growl as his face lengthened into a snout. His clothes ripped away from his body as he became ... a werewolf.

Sirius stood transfixed as Remus, now a wolf, threw his head back and howled. The low, piercing, animalistic sound coming from his friend's throat sent a shiver down his spine. James prodded him and they turned into their respective animals.

The werewolf was immediately hostile. He lunged at them, demanding to know why they had come. Padfoot leapt forward, and seized the werewolf around the neck, throwing him backwards. The wolf growled and leapt forward again, but was just thrown back once more.

Padfoot pinned the werewolf down, growling. The werewolf growled back ... but didn't try anything more.

Finally Padfoot joined Prongs and Wormtail.

Inwardly James thought about what interesting creatures dogs and wolves were ... fighting for dominance ... James fought an urge to snigger.

The wolf jumped onto the bed, where it curled up. Nobody else moved for a long time.

Then slowly, cautiously, Padfoot joined the wolf on the bed. He curled up next to the werewolf, looking at him with sad eyes.

Prongs and Wormtail looked at each other and shrugged. They were both thinking the same thing.

_'Must be a dog thing ...'_

* * *

"Thank you! Thank you! How did you manage it!" 

That was how Remus woke them up the next morning.

He was dressed with clothes that looked as if they were made of mostly patches and scratched and bruised, but less so than usual.

"I kept my mind ... that was so great! Thank you!"

Remus pulled James, who had been asleep on the floor, up and smiled, "Thanks... and you Peter ... and you Sirius ..."

Sirius smiled groggily, "Right ... well, good-night."

Remus laughed and grabbed his hand, dragging him out, "We've got classes ..."

"Furry ..." said James.

Peter shook his head.

"Howls?"

Sirius laughed, "Thinking of a nickname for Remmy?"

"Nickname?"

"Yeah see, I'm Padfoot, James is Prongs, and Peter's Wormtail ... according to our animals ... you know ..."

"Ah, I understand. More of yourinsanity ... "

"Moony," said Sirius. "You're going to be Moony."

James grinned, "Perfect! We're Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs! The Marauders!"

Then James noticed Remus was still holding Sirius' hand as they walked. He nudged Peter.

They started taunting, "Padfoot and Moony, hiding in a tree, K-I-S-S-"

Remus slipped his hand out of Sirius' just as easily as he slipped it in. They walked out of the Whomping Willow after Remus prodded its knot.

"-I-N-G! One's a wolf, one's a dog, they walk hand in hand, and slip away for a snog!"

Peter and James laughed insanely as Remus walked ahead, shaking his head. Sirius caught up to him, "Ignore those two ... they've gone mad ..." Remus smiled at Sirius.

Sirius felt his stomach do somersaults. He grinned back, "So, you're happy we did something illegal?"

Remus laughed, "Well, I think you guys are rubbing off on me ... because yes. Yes, I am. Thank you ... that's the first time I've kept my mind when I transformed."

"That's great! Hey, James, maybe we can sneak out ... do some exploring ... poking around ... you know ... "

James' eyes lit up, "YEAH! Maybe we can sneak into the girl's dormitory!"

Sirius smacked James' head, "Well ... okay, that too."

Everyone except Remus laughed.

* * *

Sirius stared at Remus out of the corner of his eye in History of Magic as Professor Binns went on and on about ... well, about something. 

"In fact, the Flame-Freezing Charm didn't gain much fame until Wendlin the Weird allowed herself to be caught more than forty-seven times, using said Flame-Freezing Charm and only pretending ..."

Sirius rolled his eyes and scribbled, **_'Wendlin Weird-caught 47 times by Muggles-Flame-Freezing Charm and pretended to be in pain-Remus looks cute with glasses on-Uric Oddball tried to prove-'_**

Sirius stared at his words and scratched out the '**_Remus looks cute with glasses on'_** part out so hard, he tore his parchment in half.

Remus looked over and Sirius blushed, but smiled. Remus smiled back and then turned back to his notes. Sirius bit his lip and mentally shook himself.

_'This Animagus thing ... being a dog ... it's messing with my human brain ...'_

Sirius' mind wandered and he remembered last night.

Remus stood there, half-hidden in shadow ... He threw his head back, a sliver of moonlight from the cracks in the Shrieking Shack falling over his eyes, and howled. A melancholic howl, dripping with loneliness ... a call for help ... for a mate ... Imagine him throwing his head back ... crying out Sirius' name ...

Sirius fell out of his chair, pale-faced at what he'd just though.

_'Bloody hell ... being a dog is driving me insane!'_

Everyone in the room except Professor Binns, who was still droning on and on about Emerick the Evil and Basilisks, was looking at Sirius.

Remus held out his hand, "Are you okay?"

Sirius took it, feeling the warmth, as Remus pulled him back onto his seat.

"Y-yeah ... I-I'm ... yeah ... fine ..."

Remus let go of him, leaving Sirius' hand feeling cold and turned back to his notes, not wanting to miss anything.

Sirius put his face in his hands and let his hair fall onto his face, hiding him from view,.

_'What the hell is a matter with me! It's ... it's just because he's a wolf and I'm a dog ... that all ... it has nothing to do with me ... I just have to learn to block out my doggish thoughts ... my god ... that image keeps popping up!'_

He looked at Remus out of the corner of his eye and felt as if his stomach had done yet another somersault.

_'It's all his fault! He's so ... attractive ... WHY is he so attractive ... what is a matter with me! Did someone slip a Love Potion into my drink! I know who did it! SNAPE! I just KNOW it!'_

The bell rang then and Sirius sighed with relief, "Yes! This class is over!"

The Marauders packed up and went down to lunch, Sirius in the lead and trying to avoid catching anyone's eye.

* * *

A/N: Two things- 1) Sirius didn't have a wand at Azkaban, but he still turned into a dog. But Peter needed a wand so I came up with the fact he's not as powerful as an excuse ... I guess. 

2) Who is R.S.? Well there's one more unregistered Animagus mentioned in HP4 ... maybe it was that person who was at Hogwarts before the Marauders ... and well ... researched and found that information. "wink"

Here's a hint: The Beetle at Bay "lol" Too easy!

Oh, and about the shonen-ai thing ... tell me, are things going too quickly, or too slowly ... hmm ...

Well, anyway!

Please Review!


	7. Scroll 7: Maybe yes, Maybe no, Maybe

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 7: Maybe yes, Maybe no, Maybe maybe

After lunch, the Marauders walked to their favorite tree, near the shore of the lake, and sat underneath its shade. James and Peter played Exploding Snap, Remus had taken out his glasses and a book, and was reading, and Sirius ... was looking out at the lake (and at Remus out of the corner of his eye), scouting for Snape who was probably spying on them.

It was very hard for Sirius to concentrate on looking out for Snape, when there were other things to look at. Such as the lake, Remus, the exciting game of Exploding Snap, Remus, a couple of third years teasing the Whomping Willow, Remus, and Snape hiding in the bushes.

Snape was hiding in the bushes. Spying on them.

Sirius sat up, "Oy, Snivellus, what do YOU want!"

Snape made his way out of the bushes and James took out his wand, "What do you want!"

Snape ignored James and Sirius, and instead spoke to Remus, "Regulus Black would like a word, Lupin."

Remus frowned over his half-moon glasses, "Oh?"

"I will take you."

Remus stood up slowly, leaving his book on the grass and followed Snape. Sirius noticed that as he put away his glasses, he took out his wand.

"Smart ... I'm going to have a look," said Sirius, standing up.

James frowned, "Want us to come-"

"No, stay here."

_'Now what would dear old Regulus want with Remus!'_

Sirius hid behind a cracked statue and saw Snape, Bertram Aubrey, and Evan Rosier standing near Regulus who was telling Remus something very quickly, and in a hushed voice.

_'This is serious ...'_

Snape was looking around and suddenly he grabbed Remus.

He grabbed Remus Lupin. By the arm. In front of Sirius Black.

_'Oh ... hell ... no!'_

Sirius strode over. To his surprise, they all left and Remus walked over to him pale-faced.

"What'd he say, Remus!"

Remus shook his head and walked past him.

Sirius followed him. Up ahead a crowd had formed. Hagrid was carrying a boy in his arms. He was bruised and scratched and bleeding. Sirius glanced over and followed Remus, who didn't seem to register anything.

Sirius grabbed Remus' arm, "What did he say!"

Remus just stared blankly at him. Sirius shook his roughly, "WHAT DID HE SAY!"

Remus blinked and looked at the grass, "Fenrir Greyback ... I think he was the one ... "

"What?"

"He's a werewolf famous for biting children when their parents refuse Lord Voldemort. I think ... he's the one who bit me ... and killed my friend Nathan ..."

Sirius' mouth dropped open, "But ... maybe Regulus was lying ... that prat-"

"No! He knew! And he told me ... how did he know I'm what I am!"

"I told him ... but that was before I knew he was an idiot! It's okay, he won't tell!"

Remus played with his Prefects Badge and started walking away again.

Sirius walked alongside him, "Remus ... I dunno what to say-"

"Don't say anything ... I don't need you to!"

Sirius stopped walking. He watched Remus go, then tore after him.

"Wait! I'm sorry Remus ... I'm an idiot ..."

Remus was walking to the castle, forgetting his bag near the tree.

"Remus! Please wait ..."

Sirius ran past the crowd and Hagrid, finally catching up to Remus. He grabbed the hood of Remus' robes.

"Stop!"

Remus stopped, looking at the grass, "All this time ... my father ... he lied! He said he didn't know! I pitied ... UGH!"

Remus was about to start walking away again, when Sirius spun him around. The two looked at each other for what seemed forever. Then Remus moved closer, and stopped. Sirius too moved closer, stopped, and after an awkward moment, took Remus in his arms.

He hugged Remus for a long time, burying his face into Remus' light brown hair. He felt Remus relax against him and cling to the front of his robes.

Sirius looked up and saw a few people staring, including Bertha Jorkins, Professor Flitwick and Hagrid. The latter looked away when they saw Sirius looking at them, and Flitwick led Bertha Jorkins away.

Finally, they broke apart.

Remus looked up at him, eyes questioning, lips parted slightly. Sirius licked his own lips and smiled nervously. Remus returned his smile.

Sirius licked his lips again, and racked his brain for a conversation starter.

_'Damn! I'm good at this! Say something! Idiot! Comment on something! SAY SOMETHING!'_

Yet Remus seemed just at loss for words as him.

"The ... so ... when's the next full moon!" Sirius blurted out, senselessly.

Remus smiled up at him, "Not for another month!"

Remus' smiled suddenly disappeared and he looked down, "I think I've heard of Greyback ..."

Sirius frowned and cupped Remus' face, turning it up, "Just drop it ... it happened, you're here ... I don't mind ... we don't care ..."

"Sirius I-"

Their eyes met for an instant, or it could have been an hour, it wouldn't have mattered. Sirius leaned close, their noses almost touching. Sirius knew and Remus knew what was going to happen.

_'Do it!'_

But Sirius waited a second too long. James came running towards them, "So what happened!"

He and Remus broke away coughing.

Sirius grinned and ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing!"

He saw Peter's faint outline, struggling with Sirius' and Remus' bags. Remus ran to get his and ran off, into the castle without so much as a glance towards Sirius.

Sirius stared after him, long after he'd gone into the Entrance Hall.

He stopped when he caught James and Peter sniggering.

"What!" he asked annoyed.

"Poof!" shouted Peter.

"What! I am not!" Sirius frowned and pouted defiantly.

"Poof! Poof! POOFY POOF SIRIUS BLACK!" taunted James and Peter.

Sirius sighed exasperatedly and grabbed James' glasses, throwing them to Peter," Keep them safe."

With that he grabbed James' hair and dragged him to the lake, "I'm going to DROWN you!"

* * *

"What are you so worried about?" asked James as he drank Madam Promfrey's cold remedy and gagged. 

Sirius looked away from the window and felt at his nose. It wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Your nose? Is that all?" Peter laughed. "Don't worry, it's dead center and definitely not bleeding anymore ... the girls loved you when you were fighting with James in the lake, so it's all good."

James grumbled and Peter quickly added, "But they loved you too of course! And ... " Peter looked around for ideas when James still didn't cheer up and noticed a green and white scarf handing form a four-poster near Sirius.

"... and there were more Slytherins on Sirius' side."

James grinned, "Hah! You've got more rotters on your side, Padfoot!"

But Sirius was walking toward the four poster next to him. He pulled back the hangings and saw Regulus with Davey Gudgeon, who was unconscious in the bed. Davey had a lot of scratches and bruises and his left eye was covered.

"Oh, it's you," said Sirius, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Regulus nodded and said nothing.

"You're an idiot, you know? Hanging out with scum like him ..."

Regulus sighed, "Sirius, I don't want to-"

"To what! To cause trouble ...? Oh, I forgot! You're the good one, while I'm the evil, disowned filthy blood traitor! Riiight! Let me tell you something-"

"Let me tell you something, Sirius! I can see your future if you keep hanging around with those half-bloods, and blood-traitors, and half-breeds! You're going to end up dead! You had a choice and you picked the losing side!"

Sirius laughed, "Wow! Memorized word for word! That's exactly what my dear old mum told me! I'll give you that, a good memory! But it's YOU who'll end up dead! Mark my words, Regulus ... you're not one to go over to the Dark Side ... don't do it ... go on with your idiocy ... go on being a ... Slytherin ... but choose what is right ... not what's easy ... okay?"

With that Sirius jerked the curtains closed and strode out without even a glance at his friends. Regulus glared after him, then walked out as well.

James raised an eyebrow and looked at Peter who shrugged.

* * *

They found Sirius in the Common Room, sitting in a chair by the fire and staring off into space. James and Peter walked over, "Hey ...? Wanna-?" 

"No."

"You su-"

"Yep."

"Want me to change-"

"Please."

"How about a game of chess!" suggested Peter cheerily.

Sirius nodded, "Okay."

Sirius played a few games, but his heart just wasn't in it. Nor was his mind.

And after his third loss to Peter James grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye, "I've got three things to say to you."

"Um ..." Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"One is, ignore him! Let him live his life and you live yours ... sod him! Two is, tell him ... and you know who I mean. You almost snogged in front of the whole darn school ... "

Sirius rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to argue but James cut him off, "Third, try to keep up appearances ... you know ... play the field a bit! Every girl in the school swoons when you glance at them ... don't let that go to waste ..."

Sirius laughed, "Alright ... "

Peter looked at his watch, "Speaking of telling him ... where's Remus? He wasn't in the dormitory when I went to put the chess set away."

Sirius frowned, "He might be in the library ..."

"Go and check," said James automatically.

Sirius stood up, "Wait ... what are you two scheming?"

"We're not scheming anything!" said Peter quickly, too quickly.

Sirius sighed and started walking away, "O.K. I will go ... but if you're scheming something ... I'll ... I'll ... stick you to the ceiling or something ..."

"Aw come on Padfoot! That was weak!"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he walked out of the portrait hole and to the library.

* * *

Sure enough, he found Remus in the library, sitting at a desk with his glasses on, and sifting though old newspapers. 

"Remus ...?"

Remus looked up at him and Sirius bit his lip to stop himself from saying," Aww!"

"Hello Sirius."

"What are you doing?" said Sirius as he picked up a newspaper with the headline, 'Murder of Five, Greyback Suspected.'

"Research," was Remus short, clipped reply.

"Ah ..." Sirius' eyes traveled over all the newspaper articles:

**'Fenrir Greyback Accused of Murdering ...' **

**'Fenrir Greyback At Large' **

**'Wizarding Community Fears Fenrir Greyback'**

**'Greyback, Suspected Death Eater'**

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Erm ... so what have you found out ...?"

"That Greyback is a maniac who kills for pleasure and is suspected of attacking even without the full moon, except in special cases. 'Bite them young and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards ... that's what he says. I was a special case and would have been killed or worse taken away ... had it not been for Nathan ... he saved me ... and now he's dead."

Sirius sighed and sat down next to Remus, "Moony ... you've got to let it go ... Nathan's dead ... Tad's-"

"Ted ... he's gone ... I know."

"You're so obsessed with Greyback-"

"He convinces werewolves to join him ... to join the Dark Lord's side ... "

Sirius frowned, "So you're saying he might come after ... after you?"

Remus shrugged, "Anything's possible .. I want to know as much as I can ..."

Remus grabbed all the Greyback articles and rolled them up, stuffing them into his bag.

"So why are you here, Sirius?"

"I ... I came to look for ... you ... I was worried ... about ... you ..."

_'Damn! Why are you going red NOW!'_

Remus frowned, "Worried about me ...?"

"You just left and ..."

Sirius suddenly stopped. He drew out his wand and pointed it over Remus' shoulder at a stack of books, "Out of there you or I'll hex you!"

Bertha Jorkins stumbled out with another girl, giggling and gossiping as they ran from the two boys.

"They were spying on us," said Sirius bitterly. "Honestly ... what do they want!"

"They want us to confirm their suspicions," said Remus with a smile.

"Sus-suspicions?"

"That we're together ... they want us to snog in public ..." Remus rolled his eyes and slung his bag over his shoulder, "Well let's go ... wouldn't want to be late for dinner ... "

Sirius looked at the stack of books where Bertha had been hiding with her friend, _'Maybe ... he doesn't ... maybe I should just forget about-'_

"You coming?" said Remus, holding out his hand.

Sirius looked at it for a full ten seconds before taking it, "Yeah ... yeah I'm coming ..."

_'Maybe I he does ... and maybe I will ...'_ thought Sirius happily.

* * *

James nudged Sirius hard after he'd sat down, "Well? Why were you two holding hands! And why's Bertha having a giggling fit every time your name is mentioned!" 

"And Remus," added Peter, leaning towards Sirius as well.

Sirius frowned and opened his mouth, when Dumbledore stood up.

"Before we begin dinner, I must ask for your full attention." He paused as everyone turned to him. "I'm sure you are all aware of the most unfortunate event that occurred today. Davey Gudgeon of the Slytherin House, nearly lost an eye today, due to participating in a well-known game that consists of getting near enough to touch the trunk of the Whomping Willow."

Dumbledore looked around and stopped at James, his blue eyes twinkling. It was James who had started the game, back in First Year.

Dumbledore continued, not taking his eyes off James, "I want to say this only once and hope that you will memorize it and take it to heart like rational human beings we are."

Dumbledore now looked at Remus, who smiled, "The Whomping Willow does not like being touched. You are forbidden to go near it."

He gave the Marauders another meaningful look before turned to the whole school, "Unless you wish to suffer a most painful decapitation, I repeat, do not go near it."

He smiled, "And now, on a happier note. Dinner."

James turned to the plates of food instantly appearing in front of them, "He makes a decapitation sound funny! I LOVE this guy!"

The other three laughed.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update ... I don't know ... this chappie's a bit slow, ne? I think I'll end their 5th year in the next chapter. "wink"

I think I did it for the Shonen-Ai "giggle"

Well anyway! Tell me how you liked it, Review Plz!


	8. Scroll 8: Sweet Severus

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 8: Sweet Severus

Sirius PoV

We're doing homework. The teachers have always piled it up before exams, but not like this. Never like this.

_Maybe it's because of the O.W.L.s ... oh right. Back to work._

I sigh and turn back to page 352 of The Advanced Book of Spells.

_I have to pass these things ... and I have to finish that stupid essay._

But it's so bloody HARD to concentrate.

So hard.

When Moony's right next to me and the common room's empty except for us four. And I can hear him breathing.

Not Prongs, and not Peter, just him ... breathing ... bent over the parchment, frowning over his glasses at page 355, and scratching his chin with the end of his quill.

_Drip._

He sighs as he accidentally blots his homework. He's never failed a test before, but he's specially anxious about the Potions portion.

He's never been specially good at them.

_O.W.L.s mean a lot to him._

_Oh right, O.W.L.s ... essay ... study ... must focus ... _

But it's TOO difficult ... WHY must he have those strange Dumbledore-type glasses ...oh, but they look so much better on him ... so cute ...

_O.W.Ls!_

I turn back to page 352. But my eyes flicker back up.

Remus smiled and rolls up his parchment, "Well, I'm finished. Good-night everyone."

Peter looks up anxiously, "Can I see your-"

"Sorry Peter, no ... you've got to learn on your own."

He half-waves and walks up the stairs.

I sigh and turn back to page 352.

_On the bright side ... I can concentrate now ... _

* * *

Normal PoV

June; Hogwarts Express

"So how do you think you did, Remus?" Sirius asked, leaning against him.

Remus glanced sideways at him, "O.W.L.s, you mean?"

He turned back to his book.

"Yes, Moony. O.W.L.s ... why are you being so ... weird! You've hardly said a word ..."

"Peter, kindly inform Mr. Black that he may speak to me when he has learned to be a human being and not tease innocent people just because he is bored."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Peter, tell Mr. Loopy that I've only two things to say to him. One: If he wants, he can go comfort his boyfriend Snivellus, instead of sitting here with us. And Two: He probably doesn't have the faintest idea of what being a human being is!"

Peter and James gasped.

"Padfoot ..." began James. "You went ... a little too far ..."

Sirius' eyes were flashing, and he was pouting angrily. Remus' eyes has stopped moving over the page and he'd gone white.

Suddenly he closed the book with a snap and stood up, the book fell to the floor. He glared for a moment at Sirius, then looked at the floor and smiled at Peter, "I'll be patrolling the corridors ... then I shall be in the Prefects carriage if you need me ..."

Sirius sighed as Remus strode out, "Moony, wait-"

His words were cut off by Remus slamming the compartment door shut.

Sirius quickly followed him, "Moony! Remus! Wait ..."

He caught Remus' arm and whirled him around, "I didn't mean it ..."

"It's time you realize how much you can hurt a person with mere words ... have a good summer, Mr. Black."

Sirius gaped after him. Then he turned and strode back to his compartment, but something caught his eye.

"Jorkins!" he whirled around and aimed a hex just as a figure ducked behind a sliding door. "Honestly, get a LIFE!"

"How'd it go, Padfoot?"

Sirius ignored him and sat where Remus had previously sat, stretching out on the seat.

Peter gave James a meaningful look and James got up, "I'll be right back with something that'll cheer you up Padfoot."

James returned with a copy of **Adult Wizard**, "Smith let me borrow it."

James held it up, open to a picture of a very naked, very pretty woman.

Peter turned red instantly and Sirius' mouth dropped open.

The girl in the picture flipped over and winked at them, she began making suggestive movements when Sirius grabbed the book away and threw it to the ground, "James! I am NOT going to see that!"

Peter picked it up quickly, "Well I am!"

"Here, here!" said James.

Sirius rolled his eyes and looked at the book Remus had dropped. He picked it up and looked through it, stopping at the chapter on major constellations.

Smiling at Canis Major, Sirius thought, _'Astronomy ... who needs it ... '_

He looked at the brightest star in the constellation and in the sky, "Sirius, the Dog Star ..."

_'Remus ... '_

The door slid open and for a fleeting second, Sirius was sure it was Remus, as if he'd mentally called him.

It was Smith.

"Hey um ..." he began nervously. "Can I have my magazine back?"

James sighed and threw it at him, "Has it been twenty minutes already?"

"Yes."

"Okay, leave!"

Smith practically ran away, his magazine clutched in his sweaty hands.

Sirius grinned and sat up to watch as Smith ran smack into someone coming out of the first compartment.

It was Remus.

Sirius, James, and Peter watched as Remus frowned at the magazine. He looked through it and turned very red. Shaking his head, he tapped it and ...

It burst into flames.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" James ran out and sank to his knees in front of the still smoldering ashes. Sirius followed, laughing.

"Well that's a nice ending, Prongs," Sirius said.

"What's going on here!" asked a girl's voice.

Lily Evans walked out and looked at James, who immediately stood up and messed his hair up in one quick motion, "Hello Evans ..."

Sirius sniggered at James' "mature voice" as he called it, and James stepped on his foot.

Lily looked at Remus frowning, "What's going on, Remus?"

"Well ... I've just confiscated and gotten rid of a particularly ... crude magazine, if you please."

"Well why was Potter yelling?"

Remus smiled, "I assure you it is quite alright, he just thought I was setting Mr. Smith here on fire. He came to Smith's aid."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Either Smith owes him something, or he's setting James up with a girl. Otherwise he'd just have let Smith burn and snuff it."

With a nod at Remus, she left, sliding the compartment door closed behind her.

James sank to his knees again, smiling like an idiot, "She used my NAME! She called me JAMES!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Get a grip .. now let's go ..."

The four walked back to the compartment. It wasn't until Sirius reached for the Astronomy book at the same time Remus did, that he noticed Lupin's presence.

Lupin smiled, "I suppose you were trying to make up for the fact you were ogling at some naked women."

Sirius said defensively, "**_I_** did nothing of the sort, excuse me!"

Remus looked at him, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Fine, don't believe me ..." Sirius looked away.

Remus regarded him a moment, "You really didn't?"

"No! I was looking at the book of yours! I can name the THREE constellations on page 325!"

"Go on then."

"Canis Major, Lupus, and Leo!"

Remus smiled, "Alright ..."

"Why does it matter?" asked Peter suddenly. "He IS a boy ... "

James coughed twice and shot a glare at Peter.

Remus frowned and Sirius looked away.

Finally Remus spoke, "It doesn't really matter ... it's just I never thought of you and Sirius as perverts ... James maybe."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean-"

As James ranted on and on and begged Remus not to tell Lily that, Sirius grew quieter, and quieter.

_'Was that all ...? For a moment there I really thought he was jelo- nah ... not Remus ... he thinks of you as just a friend ... get it into your head, Padfoot!'_

Finally, the train stopped and there was a scramble to get one's trunks and make it out of the train.

Remus stopped Sirius on the way out of the compartment, "Hey ...? I noticed ... something's wrong with you."

Sirius shrugged and walked out, into the crowd. Remus followed, "Is it because of what I said ... that it didn't matter."

Sirius shrugged again and walked out of the train, Remus walking alongside him, "Sirius? Is it?"

Finally Sirius faced him, "Yeah ... but whatever. Like you-"

"I'm a good liar, aren't I!" Remus said with a laugh. Then with a wink he walked away to find his parents, leaving Sirius staring after him.

* * *

Sixth Year

"Have we got things planned for this year!"

Sirius grinned at Remus, who was sitting across from him in the train compartment.

Remus rolled his eyes, "What's new?"

"Well, James has got the most perfect idea! We could create some sort of guide or map or something ... telling all the secrets of Hogwarts!"

"AND," began James excitedly. "We're working on all sorts of new spells! Snivellus is going to have fun this year! Setting buttocks on fire ... clothes-changing according to gender."

Remus sighed and rummaged through his trunk for something to read, "You're all insane ..."

"And so are you, Moony! Remember, we're all Marauders," Sirius turned to James.

James grinned, "That's right. All for one and one for all!"

"Catch your pants before they fall!" finished Sirius.

Remus felt his pants sliding off and stopped rummaging immediately and grabbing the waist of his pants, "I can't believe you! Look at my belt!"

James snickered, "We warned you."

* * *

"What are you doing!"

Sirius stared at Remus, "It's the first day back! We're getting started on the gender-clothes-changing!"

"We have an essay to do!"

"Yeah, isn't Slughorn a rotten piece of-"

"Well why aren't you working on it!"

"Because! I don't like Potions!"

"Then WHY did you choose it!"

"I didn't want you to feel like a loser! All alone in that class with no one but ... Snivellus ... plus! It's good to know how to recognize poisons ... and stuff ..." Sirius cleared his throat and continued tapping his wand on a quill.

"Well, I'm going to the library. I'll be there if you need me."

"Not Greyback, again!"

"No! I need the book Silent Killers: A Guide to Poisons ... for the essay ... "

"Right, yeah whatever ..." said Sirius moodily. "I can't believe you're going to start ditching us already ..."

"Sirius," began Remus, pulling Sirius' tie. "I barely passed Potions ... I need all the help I can get ... when I'm done, I'll come right back."

"Okay ... and will you let us copy?"

Remus shook his head, "If you must. Have you seen my quill?"

Remus reached for the quill Sirius had been tapping. Sirius' eyes widened, "No don't-!"

Remus' clothes shortened into a girls' uniform: a very short gray skirt, a long-sleeves shirt with the tie neatly tied, knee-length socks, and girly boots. His eyes widened and he looked down, "SIRIUS!"

"I told you not to-"

Sirius looked Remus up and down, "Hey ... you look good ..."

Remus rolled his eyes and threw him the quill, "Now I have to go change-"

"It'll wear off in a few minutes! Anyway, who's going to be at the library on the first day!"

Remus sighed and walked out of the common room as fast as he could, hoping no one would recognize him.

Sirius bit his lip as he watched Remus go, his skirt flying out and showing off much more than Remus would have liked, "Mmm Mmm Mmm ..."

He turned to James, "I think I like this spell, a lot."

* * *

_'I guess Sirius was right ... no one here.'_

Madam Pince barely looked at him as he walked to the Potions Section of the library. Remus looked for the book Silent Killers. He was just about to give up and go back to the common room, when a very old book with a dark-green cover caught his eyes.

_'That's it!'_

But just as he reached for it, another hand reached for it. A pale, sallow-skinned hand. Remus looked at Severus Snape in surprise. Snape just looked him over, then his gaze flickered to Remus' face.

Remus blushed as Snape's upper lip curled in disgust, "I never knew you were into cross-dressing, Lupin."

With that he took the book to a table in the corner, walking in his twitchy manner.

Remus bit his lip but walked over to the table, "I need to borrow that book ..."

Snape glared at him, black eyes glittering, "I don't think I care."

Remus looked around. Had any of the other Marauders been with him, he'd never had done it. But since the coast was clear he sat down across from Snape.

"I need that book. I'm terrible at Potions. I will sit here and wait until you are finished with it."

Snape looked up at Remus, "Why'd you take it for N.E.W.T. classes then?"

"Because-"

"Never mind, I don't care."

Remus watched Snape work, flipping through pages rapidly, scribbling furiously on the paper.

"You really like Potions, right Severus?"

Snape looked up, eyes narrowed, a cold calculating look, "Yes ... but I prefer the Dark Arts ..."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "I assume you mean Defense Against the-"

"No, Lupin. I meant the Dark Arts."

Snape held Lupin's gaze for a long time, finally looking away, flipping pages frantically.

_'Well, who better to explain Golpalott's Third Law that the Potions Class genius? It's worth a shot anyway ...'_

"I don't understand-"

"Many things," cut in Snape.

"-Golpalott's Third Law," finished Remus simply

Snape raised an eyebrow, "You're a Gryffindor. You're not supposed to understand that sort of thing. You're supposed to be good at Quidditch and Transfiguration, and have all the girls chasing after you."

"I think that's annoying too," said Remus with a smile.

Snape gaped at him, "What are you insinuating?"

"Only that we're very much alike-"

"How so!"

"We don't like being the center of attention, preferring the background-"

"I see," Snape looked at him with that cold, calculating look, before turning back to the book.

"Golpalott's Third Law ... states that the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components," recited Snape from memory.

Remus looked at him blankly.

Snape sighed, "Okay, let's see ... in words YOU'D understand ... a BLENDED poison, obviously has more than ONE poison in it, right?"

Remus nodded, not at all offended by Snape's rudeness in treating him like an idiot.

"So, when you use Scarpin's Revelaspell and SEPARATE the different poisons ... THEN you can find the substance that counters the poison. In short the ANTIDOTE, you know, that word we learned in second year? It's useful ... remember it."

Remus just kept nodding.

"So ALL the poisons that make up the blended poison have substances that counter them. You need to use ALL the ANTIDOTES in the ANTIDOTE for the BLENDED POISON."

Remus nodded, "Okay, I get that, but the next part confuses me. It says something about sums and equal to, how do you know-"

"Ah yes, sums ... those are difficult for your feeble brain, I expect. But let's see if I can explain."

Snape ripped off a large bit of parchment, "Okay, say we have Hystedoxida."

Snape drew a cauldron, "When we use _Specialis Revelio_, we see that this blended poison is comprised of Alihotsy leaves and, doxy fangs, and snake fangs."

"So now we find the antidotes for those?"

"Right ... Alihotsy leaves cause hysteria, and are countered by ..."

Remus reached over and flipped through the pages of Silent Killers while Snape rolled his eyes.

"Um ... Grumbumble Esscence?"

"Right. Now, Doxy venom is usually countered by the most simple antidote."

Snape looked at Remus, expectantly, but Remus looked stumped.

"It comes from the stomach of a goat?"

Blank.

"It's a stone ..."

Blank.

"It's on the page you have the book open to!"

"Oh ... um ... a bezoar."

"Right, but since snake fangs make the poisons twice as powerful we have to ..."

Remus looked down at all the squiggly marks and symbols on the parchment that Snape had drawn.

"Oh come on, Lupin! A PAIR of snake fangs! How much is a PAIR! It's TWO! That means-"

"You'll have to add twice as much of the antidote to counter the blended poison," cut in Remus.

"Nice of you to join the real world," sniggered Snape. "So instead of one bezoar?"

"Two."

"And instead of 25 milliliters of Grumbumble Esscence?"

"Fifty milliliters."

"And so concludes this tedious job. Good-bye."

Remus smiled, "Thank you for helping me, Severus."

Snape gaped at him, "I ... I didn't HELP you ... I ... just ... "

Then Snape glared at him, the cold calculating look back, "Go play with your little friends already ..."

Remus smiled, "Thanks anyway."

With that Remus grabbed the parchment with the 'explanation' on it and left quickly, skirt flying out behind him..

Snape stared after him, thinking,_ 'His arse is showing and he doesn't care ... honestly ... all Gryffindors are alike.'_

* * *

A/N: "giggles madly" Lupin in a skirt. HAHAHAHA! Anywho ... Snape ... help Lupin ... WHY! Hmm ...

"wink" "wink"

Review and I just might tell you!

SIRIUS BEGINS TO REALIZE HE'S ATTRACTED TO REMUS AND DENIES HE IS A POOF ITS JUST REMUS NOT OTHER BOYS IN GENERAL AND HE STILL LIKES GIRLS

SNAPEUNDERPANTS SCENE ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL


	9. Scroll 9: Confusing Concoctions of Love

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 9: Confusing Concoctions of Love

"That wasn't funny Sirius," Remus said, as he came back from the library to the common room and found it empty except for his three Marauder friends.

"Tell me there was someone in the library!" said Sirius, grinning.

James looked at Remus and burst out laughing, "Remus is still a GIRL ..."

Remus rolled his eyes, "I'm going to change ..."

"Don't take the boy's stairs! You're now a GIRL remember?" teased James.

Sirius grinned and grabbed Remus' hand. He tapped Remus' clothes and they became the gray pants and white shirt that they were supposed to be.

"There, happy?"

"Thank you."

"Well, hand it over!" said Sirius, flopping back onto the couch.

"Hand what over?" asked Remus frowning as he sat down near Sirius.

"The book! That you were going to borrow ..."

"Oh um ... I didn't find it-"

"Hey, what's THAT!"

Sirius suddenly lunged at Remus, grabbing his hand and extracting the parchment with Golpalott's Third Law explained.

"Well, what's this then!"

"Give that back," said Remus mildly.

Sirius threw the note to James. Remus frowned and walked over to James, who threw it to Peter and used _Levicorpus_ on him.

Peter sniggered and read the parchment while hanging upside-down, "When you use Scarpin's Revelaspell ... hey, I know this handwriting! Take a look, Prongs!"

Peter threw the note to James who caught it and studied the handwriting. Suddenly he threw the parchment down and sent Peter crashing onto a couch.

"_SNIVELLUS_!" said James, backing away from the parchment as if it were poisonous.

Sirius looked down at the parchment, "Remus ... you stole this from _Snivellus_!"

"No."

Sirius frowned, "Then how-?"

"It's getting late. Good-night," Remus walked to the staircases, but Sirius quickly blocked his way.

"Remus ... was he in the library?" asked Sirius slowly.

Remus sighed, "Maybe he was."

"Did you TALK to him ...!"

"Maybe I did, Sirius. I'm tired okay? Please move," Remus tried to push past Sirius, who grabbed his arm.

"How are you TIRED! You were in a library! Reading books! Or were you doing something ELSE with _Snivellus_!

James walked over, "You mean like snogging or ..."

Peter looked up, "Or what?"

James shot him a look, and Peter, eyes wide, understood,"Oh! Oh ... oh ... ew ..."

Remus wrenched his arm out of Sirius' grasp, "Last time I checked, I don't have to tell you what I do or what I don't do. Now move or I'll hex you!"

Sirius laughed, "Oh! I see what _SNIVELLUS_ is doing! He's turning you against us!"

Remus reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his wand, just as Sirius did.

James looked at Peter. The tension between them was so high, it radiated off the two like heat.

They stood there a long time, wands pointed at each other.

"Well, Loopy? Aren't you going to hex me!" taunted Sirius.

"I'll give you one last chance, Black!" Remus shot back.

"Well, I'm not moving any time soon! So go on! Hex me!"

Remus glared at him, "Move aside, Sirius."

"Not until you tell me what you were doing with _Snivelly_ in the library!"

"He helped me, okay! I'm terrible at potions, all he did was help me!"

Sirius shook his head, "He's trying to turn you against us!"

"If you keep being such a jerk, he won't need to!"

With that Remus shoved Sirius away, and ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

Sirius just stared after him, clinging to the wall to keep from falling.

He growled angrily, "Who does he think he is! Talking to me like that! I should stick him to the ceiling!"

James smiled, "Ah, young love ..."

"Shut the hell up ... I'm borrowing your cloak."

"Why!" called James as Sirius started climbing the staircase, "Because I'm hungry and I want food. Mostly candy ... and Butterbeer ..."

"Alright ... me and Peter will wait in the dormitory ..."

James began collecting their books and rolls of parchment.

* * *

Sirius opened the door with a bang, to find Remus lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. When Sirius came in, he turned over, his back to Sirius' four-poster, sniffling ever so slightly ... but Sirius heard ... and felt awful. 

"Remus? I'm going out to the kitchens ... sneaking out after hours ..." Sirius paused and sat on his bed. "You should take points off ..."

"There was a notice on the bulletin board, Dumbledore decided prefects can't take points off Houses anymore. Only teachers can now ..." Remus said slowly in a choked up voice.

"Remus ... one, that sucks ... two, I'm sorry-"

Remus turned over, "Sirius, I don't know what's wrong with you. You're so aggressive and mean to me ... you know ... if I decide to befriend Severus-"

"Oh! So you're on first name terms with him! You know what, Moony! You're so god-dammed THICK! He-hates-all-Gryffindors! Specially the Marauders! He's planning something rotten and you can't see it! So fuck you!"

Remus sighed and heard Sirius leave, slamming the door behind him.

_'Sirius ... why are you acting like this? Why do you hate me ...?'_

* * *

"What if Remus is right?" asked James, carefully. 

Peter nodded and stuffed chocolate frogs into his mouth.

Sirius ate his chocolate thoughtfully, as he, James, and Peter sat on James' bed, _Muffliato_ around the four-poster.

"Like I said," started James, but Sirius cut him off.

"I know what you said ... but what if Remus isn't right? What if he's not a good judge of character ... in fact he isn't! He can never tell whose a Slytherin-"

"Come off it Padfoot! How about letting him run his own life!"

Sirius frowned, "What's that supposed to mean!"

"You always tell him what to do, you're always there ... suggesting, poking at him, hell, you control what he eats!"

"He's so thin I can't stand it!"

James shrugged, "Maybe he likes it-"

"He'll die! He'll waste away!"

"And every time he wants to do something or go somewhere you criticize."

"WHEN have I done that!" yelled Sirius, sitting up.

"When he wanted to take Muggle Studies! You sneered and said his mum's parents were Muggles, what's he need that for! AND-" said James loudly, drowning out Sirius' protests.

"-when he wanted to take Arithmancy, you called him a nerd!"

"But he took them anyway! I didn't stop him!" yelled Sirius.

"And quit three months later because you kept teasing him!"

"I was NOT teasing him-"

"Oh Remus, your schedule's always so full! You never have time for Marauding anymore! You're letting me and James down!"

Peter nodded and reached for Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Sirius flushed, his cheeks red, "Well ... he's still got Ancient Runes and care of Magical Creatures!"

"That's because, idiot, YOU'VE got them! You've made sure, in every year, that he had the same schedule as you!"

"That's ... not true!" said Sirius balling his hands into fists.

"AND in first year, when he fell off his broom ... you were a jerk ..."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "He rose three feet and down he went! Even Pettigrew did better! AND he was the last one to actually learn how to mount it! It was pathetic!"

James frowned, "You slid off too, you know ..."

"Only once! Anyway, that's not the point ..."

"Yes it is, Padfoot ..." James sighed, "Remus wants to pass Potions ... Snivellus is the best at Potions ... it doesn't take a genius."

"I ... hate ... Remus!" yelled Sirius suddenly. "How can he socialize with the enemy!"

James threw him a Pumpkin Pasty, "Listen, I have a plan. Whenever Moony goes to the library again, we'll follow and spy on them."

Sirius took a big bite and nodded slowly, "Yeah ... we'll do that ..."

"And incidentally ... the way you're acting ... either you're totally in love with Moony, or you hate his guts."

"I DO NOT LOVE REMUS!" shouted Sirius.

"THEN YOU BLOODY HATE HIM!" yelled James.

"FINE THEN! I DO!"

"WHY ARE WE SHOUTING!" yelled Peter.

The other two laughed, and that was the end of that argument.

Little did they know, their inexperience with the Muffling Charm had made a few things quite audible to a certain Gryffindor prefect. Things like, for example: 'I ... hate .. Remus!' and 'I do not love Remus.'

Remus squeezed his tearful eyes shut and tried to drown out the sound of the other three laughing, as if mocking him ...

_'Sirius hates me ... he hates me!'_

* * *

"So ... what's the next line?" asked Remus as he tipped the skinned shrivelfig into the small cauldron they'd set up in the very back of the Restricted Section of the library. 

"**Chop the sneezewort up and add to the potion which should be a thin substance, of a gray color**," read Severus.

But after Remus had done so, the potion stayed a dark blue.

Snape sighed and grabbed a fistful of sneezewort roots, throwing them into the cauldron.

The potion turned a clear color, Snape frowned, "Oops, guess I put too much in. Need to thicken it."

He grabbed a fistful of Octopus Powder and threw it in. The potion turned gray.

Remus' eyes widened, "How DO you do that ... just grab a fistful and throw it in, and it works!"

"I have a lot of experience in the subtle art of Potion Making ... that and I read the chapters ahead of time, giving me plenty of time to practice so when the time comes, Slughorn will give me top grades," Snape smirked.

Remus' mouth dropped open and he laughed, "You cheat!"

"Not at all, really. I just like studies."

Remus smiled as Snape continued smirking.

Severus looked down at Advanced Potion Making and said softly, "That's what I like about you ... you're not an idiot ... you're striving to do better in Potions."

Remus blinked, "Severus ... what are you saying?"

"I'm saying ... if you didn't hang out with those three morons ... if only ..."

Snape put his hand on Remus' and smiled a bit, "If only ..."

Severus leaned in swiftly and kissed Remus, his mouth clumsy and unaccustomed.

When he pulled back, which was after a small length of time, he backed away from Remus.

Remus touched his lips, eyes wide, "Severus ... "

Snape's eyes were wide and when he spoke it was barely above a whisper, "I ... "

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" came a loud voice from behind the bookcases.

Remus spun around to see Sirius striding towards them, James and Peter at his heels, half-covered with the invisibility cloak.

As Sirius was walking towards them, Snape drew his wand. Sirius growled, walked right past Remus, to Snape.

"I don't need no bloody WAND!" With that, Sirius knocked Snape's arm away as he raised the wand, and punched him hard, sending him flying onto a bookcase.

Remus frowned, "Sirius stop!"

He walked over to Snape, "Severus? Are you okay ...?"

Snape looked up, and pointed his wand at Sirius, red sparks shooting out of it, slamming Sirius onto the desks.

Remus frowned, "Enough. Or else I'll send for your House Heads."

Snape's upper lip curled, "What are you doing here, Black! I thought people like you and Potter didn't know what a library was!"

"We're here to make sure you don't rape Remus!" shot Sirius back angrily. "Although considering the circumstances, it'd hardly be called a rape if Remus was willing!"

With that Sirius pushed past James and Peter, and past the small group of girls that had come running when they heard the voices, among them was Bertha Jorkins and Emmaline Vance.

They giggled and started talking in hushed voices. Remus put his face in his hands, "Severus ... I'm sorry ..."

"Don't apologize," Snape said in a quiet voice. "It's not your fault."

Remus helped him up and siphoned the blood off his face. He turned to James and Peter who shook their heads at him and left.

Remus then sat down, looking at Advanced Potion Making. After a few moments, he spoke, "Severus ... this changes nothing."

And Remus didn't look up until Snape finally walked over and sat on the chair next to him, "I know ... we'd better finish your Confusing Concoction."

Remus looked up and grinned, "It's properly named too, this is the most confusing potion I've ever tried my hand at."

Snape smirked and rolled his eyes, "Well, add the porcupine quills ..."

* * *

"Can. You. Believe. HIM!" said Sirius, trying and failing to keep his voice calm. 

"Padfoot ... are you jealous?"

"I-AM-NOT-JELOUS-OF-_SNIVELLUS_!"

James stretched and sat on a couch, "Yeah, right. That was some scene! You should have made sure no one was there ..."

Bertha and Emmaline kept shooting glances at Sirius, who growled at them, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU WANT!"

They merely giggled.

James took his glasses off to clean them, "Listen, Padfoot, if you're not jealous of him, how come you got angry that Snivellus kissed him?"

"BECAUSE IT'S NASTY!"

Peter frowned, "Me and James found it nasty too, right James? But we didn't go after him to punch Snape, right James?"

"Right," agreed James. "So why did you-?"

"BECAUSE HE JUST STOOD THERE AND LET THAT OVERGROWN BAT KISS HIM!"

"And what's it to you?" asked James, watching him closely.

"THAT I HATE _SNIVELLUS_!"

"What if Remus doesn't hate Snivellus?" asked Peter, catching on to James' plan.

"HE BLOODY HELL BETTER!"

"But why?" asked James, excitedly.

"BECAUSE HE'S A MAURAUDER! AND MARAUDERS HATE SNIVELLUS!"

"What if he goes out with Snivellus?" prodded Peter, his small black eyes twinkling in delight.

"I'LL BLOODY WRING HIS SKINNY NECK AND STUFF THAT LUMP OF GREASE HE CALLS HAIR UP HIS ARSE!

"Why! Remus is free to choose who he goes out with."

Sirius suddenly became very tense, and then, unaware that everyone in the Common Room was staring at him as if he was a lunatic, he bellowed, "BECAUSE HE'S MINE! REMUS IS MINE AND THAT DUNG BEETLE CAN'T HAVE HIM!"

It was only when he noticed James and Peter rolling around in their chairs, laughing maniacally, that Sirius looked around at the crowd that was shoving and clambering over one another, trying to catch a view of Sirius Black, whom they were all convinced had gone mad.

Sirius looked at a group of second-year girls, who shrieked in terror and hid behind two seventh-years who gave him the thumbs-up. There was Emmaline Vance ogling at him, and of course, Bertha Jorkins, standing on tiptoe and giggling. Then there was Shackelbolt who was staring at him eyes wide and mouth open, but smiled at him, when he caught Sirius' eye.

Sirius returned the smile reluctantly, but had an idea. He smiled hugely at them all and said, "And that's why, my friends, you should never eat anything James hands you! Ha, ha!"

A few people laughed, but most were still staring at him as if he was insane. Sirius grabbed his wand and pointed it at the people who were blocking the stairs, "Alright, you! Out of the way!"

The crowd gasped in unison and parted. Sirius strode to the doorway and disappeared up the staircase. James and Peter followed, laughing at him and sniggering.

"Well, now it's out in the open, Padfoot. Only one problem ... the person you were supposed to tell isn't here!" James said with a laugh as Sirius dived headfirst into the thick blankets on his bed, pulling them over his head. When he spoke, his words were a bit muffled.

"This is all _Snivellus' _fault! But mark my words James," said Sirius fiercely. "I'm going to get REVENGE!"

* * *

A/N: "cough" Yes this a very fast paced story, sorry if it doesn't make sense sometimes. I will try to fix that. I actually do not have a beta reader, I feel squeamish when other ppl read my fics with all those errors and stuff "shudders" 

I SO wish I could be like that awesome authoress J. K. Rowling and write a novel about the Marauders years one for each year and maybe an eighth for life after Hogwarts BUT OMG I think I'd go insane ... more that 400 pages ... is like ... for meh impossible. I WISH I could and maybe someday I will TRY ... and possibly hang myself in the attempt.

So ...

And about Snape ... and Remus ... laughs insanely

I WON'T TELL!

Oh and by the way, if you think Severus is U.G.L.Y go here:

www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/view/4784845/ (Replace the (dot) with actual dots: . please) "lol wink"

That, friends, is the Snapey I can see kissing Remmy. "squee!"

"wink and a nudge

Questions? Comments? Review Please!


	10. Scroll 10: Blue Moon

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 10: Blue Moon

"So when's the next full moon, Moony?" asked Sirius loudly.

Remus frowned, "Why? I thought you didn't want to associate with me."

"Surely you don't think just because YOU have issues, we're all going to stop having fun!" retorted Sirius, twirling his Transfiguration book in the air, lazily, with his wand.

"Two days," said Remus stretching.

"So you're going to the Whomping Willow!" asked Sirius loudly again.

Remus frowned, "Hush! And yes, you know that!"

Sirius looked over at the Whomping Willow, shooting a glance at the bushes behind them.

_'Good.'_

"See those first-years! Trying to get to the Whomping Willow! Idiots! All the have to do is prod the knot-!"

"Sirius!" Remus said annoyed. "Enough!"

With that Remus snapped his book closed and strode over to tell the first-years off. But Sirius had gotten what he wanted. He'd known all along that there was a certain oily-haired Slytherin in the bushes, listening to their every word.

_'Curiosity killed the cat ... and he SO deserves it!'_ thought Sirius, gleefully.

* * *

"What do you mean you're not coming!"

Sirius shrugged and made his Transfiguration book do back-flips in the air, "Those gits got stuck in detention for their little 'experiment' with McGonagall's hat ... and I ... I have homework."

Remus bit his lip to stop the tears from forming. Sirius had never put homework before Moony.

"Okay then ... I'll ... I'll get going. Bye ..."

He shot Sirius a hurt look and walked to the portrait hole

Sirius just turned back to his Potions essay on the properties of fluxweed.

He saw out of the corner of his eye, Remus walking away, slowly, looking at the floor.

_'He looks sad ...'_

Sirius put his face in his hands, letting Advanced Transfiguration fall to the floor, "Git ... what did you have to go and kiss him for ..."

He felt someone smack him on the head.

"Well! Let's get going!" James said cheerfully, checking his hair in the mirror above the fireplace.

"We can't," responded Sirius mournfully.

"Huh?" James stopped messing his hair up and turned to Sirius.

"Well ... Remus doesn't want us there. He just told me. He's mad at us ..."

James frowned, "Peter and I didn't do anything!"

"He's mad at all of us ... that's what he said ... so anyway, about this Potions homework ..."

* * *

Hours Later ...

Sirius frowned and stood up. He walked to the window and looked out, "You think he's turned yet?"

James looked up, taking off his glasses to clean them, "Yeah ... of course ..."

Sirius suddenly started laughing, "Snivellus is a goner ..."

James stood up and put his glasses back on, "What ... do you mean?"

"Snivelly ... is ... going ... to ... DIE! And Moony's going to do it for us! Isn't that great!" Sirius grinned, looking pleased.

But James just stared at him, mouth open, "You're CRAZY! They could expel him! And US! And I hate Snivellus ...b-but ... kill him ... NO! NO! PADFOOT! What have you done!"

Sirius frowned, "Oh come off it-!"

"NO! Sirius ... I can't BELIEVE you!" shouted James angrily.

With that James ran out, leaving Peter staring at Sirius with wide, fearful eyes, and Sirius pouting angrily by the window.

* * *

Severus Snape took what he heard in the bushes to heart. And so, when Remus walked slowly towards the Whomping Willow, Snape was watching from the Astronomy Tower, cloaked, and was ready to follow.

He made it to the Whomping Willow without getting caught, and tried to walk around it, searching for the hollow into which he'd seen Remus disappear.

_'Let me see ... let me see ...'_

He heard a creak, and jumped out of the way of a branch that had swung at him. He looked around for something ... a pole .. or ... a branch

_'A branch!'_

He dived towards the branch lying on the ground, just as the Whomping Willow's branch slammed on the ground where just moment ago, he'd been standing.

He prodded the knot on the tree hard, and the Willow froze in mid swipe.

Severus smirked, and straightened his cloak, _'Too easy ... now Remus ... what do you do in here ...?'_

Snape lowered himself into the hollow with ease and walked through the long tunnel. He frowned at the many creaks and thumps he began hearing.

_'Practicing magic ... Forbidden magic perhaps ...?'_

Presently, Snape reached the end of the tunnel, and looked up at a trap door. Here, the creaks, and moans, and thumps were louder.

Severus raised an eyebrow, _'Or are you meeting here secretly with, say ... a lover ...?'_

He shuddered at the prospect of what he may walk in on ... but curiosity got the better of him. He pushed the trapdoor open and hoisted himself up the opening.

He looked around the dimly lit shack. He saw a few chairs that looked like they'd been bitten in half, or with legs missing. They too looked as if they'd been ripped off.

_'Maybe it is haunted ... Ah ... Necromancy ...?'_

Intrigued, Snape walked quickly up the stairs, stopping to study the walls which were splattered with what looked like blood, and was met with louder groans and thumps, partly muffled behind a door.

Snape grabbed the door-knob and prepared himself for anything.

He threw it open.

He had prepared himself for everything ... but nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.

In the darkness of the shack, a single ray of moonlight entered and shone on the bed, in which Remus lied, facedown, naked, twitching, moaning ...

Hair sprouted thickly on his arms, and legs, and back, and face. His face ... lengthening. He groaned, now it resembled a growl, and exposed his teeth, which were also lengthening, coming to a sharp point. His hands, gripping the sheets tightly, nails blackening and lengthening as well, ripping out of Remus' fingers.

Realization hit Snape like a slap in the face.

_'He's a ... werewolf!'_

Mouth open and eyes wide, Snape backed away, tripped and crashed down the whole flight of stairs. He heard a loud howl, heard the werewolf bounding down the stairs, coming for him.

Coming for him ... hunting him ... smelling him ...

Snape cried out in horror as the werewolf, the fur on its head somewhat resembling Remus' hair, came into view. The wolf was baring its teeth, growling.

Then with a great howl, it stood up on its hind legs and slashed at Snape. Snape was thrown back, onto the trapdoor. He whirled around, trying to open it, finding it would not budge ...

Hot breath on his neck, the werewolf breathing down on him ... Snape froze and threw himself to the other end of the room.

The werewolf gave another howl and pounced.

Snape watched, petrified, as something bounded out of the trapdoor, throwing the werewolf back. Then the thing came for Snape, who tried to back away.

But the thing grabbed Snape by the collar and threw him down the trapdoor. Snape heard the werewolf howling, in pain it seemed, pounding, and then the trapdoor was slammed shut and someone landed on him hard.

Snape narrowed his eyes, struggling to see who it was. With a cry of disgust, he pushed the person off him.

"UGH! Potter!" Severus curled his lip in disgust.

"Snivellus-" James started, touching the cut above his eyebrow, gingerly.

"So ... Remus is a werewolf-"

"-you can't tell anyone-"

"-you wait until the headmaster hears-"

"-he knows!"

"and- WHAT!" Snape raised an eyebrow, suspiciously.

"He knows ... and how about a thank you!" James demanded as he wiped his bleeding nose with the sleeve of his robes.

"And what should I thank YOU for! Excuse me!" Snape's lip curled even more in disgust.

"I just saved your sorry arse from Moony!"

"You! That thing up there was ... you!" yelled Snape in disbelief.

"Yes!"

"YOU! YOU drove the werewolf back!"

"Yes!"

"YOU alone ..."

"Well a few spells ..."

Severus glared at James, "I will inform the headmaster anyway ... just to ah ... make sure ..."

James shrugged, "Yeah sure, whatever floats your boat."

James watched Snape leave, walking twitchily and quickly, cloak billowing behind him.

_'Git was peeing in his pants and acts all high and mighty! He didn't even thank me! And Sirius ... you are SO dead!'_

* * *

"I am truly disappointed in you ..." said Dumbledore, looking at them over his half-moon glasses. He waited, as if expecting one of the five boys sitting in front of him to speak.

He looked at each one, unsmiling, and frowning. His eyes were not twinkling.

Sirius looked at the other four. Severus was staring at him, upper-lip curled; Sirius ignored him. James was staring determinedly at Dumbledore's desk. Peter was staring at the floor, eyes watery. Remus was looking down at his hands, which were twitching nervously on his lap.

Sirius' eyes met Dumbledore's and he quickly lowered them.

_'I feel ... like SUCH an ass!'_

When they didn't speak, Dumbledore sighed.

"Alright then, Severus, you will go to Professor Slughorn's office. He will arrange your detentions."

As Snape rose silently, Dumbledore added, "A word to the wise, Severus ... curiosity killed the cat. Oh and ... don't tell anyone else. I forbid you. If you do, I'm afraid I will have to expel you. Off you go."

Sirius though the saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes as he said this. But when the door had closed and Dumbledore turned to them, there was no twinkle.

"Phineas," he said, addressing a portrait, but with his eyes still on the Marauders.

Sirius looked up at his great-great-grandfather, Phineas Negullus, who was shaking his head.

"Phineas!" said Dumbledore sharply.

"Yes?" Phineas said, finally paying attention.

"Make sure Severus goes directly to Horace's office."

"But-" Phineas looked over at the Marauders. "Oh alright! And here I was hoping for a good bit of entertainment ..."

"Well? Sirius? Explain yourself."

Sirius sighed and spoke to the floor, "It was a joke-"

"It could have cost Severus' life, had not James stopped Remus," said Dumbledore calmly.

"Yeah well ... I didn't think-"

At that moment the door swung open and Professor McGonagall stood there, face white, lips pursed.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" was her greeting.

Sirius sighed again, and still spoke to the floor, "It was a joke! I told Snivelly-"

"Severus," corrected Dumbledore.

"Right ... him. I told him that he could get into the Whomping Willow by poking the knot. So the git goes-"

"His name is Severus Snape," corrected Dumbledore again.

"So he goes and does it. It's not my fault," finished Sirius desperately.

"BUT YOU INTENDED HIM TO GET BITTEN OR WORSE!" said McGonagall, shaking in fury.

Phineas slid back into his portrait and grinned at them mockingly.

Sirius sighed, "Yeah well, he's tried to kill us too ..."

"THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT! SIRIUS BLACK, YOU ARE LUCKY YOU'RE STILL AT THE SCHOOL!"

Sirius' eyes flashed, "Hey, I'll pack my things up and go, if you want!"

"FIFTY POINTS OFF GRYFFINDOR! EACH! I have never ... and A MONTH'S DETENTION! FOR ALL OF YOU!"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Minerva, calm yourself."

McGonagall pursed her lips again. Phineas merely looked bored.

He said, yawning, "Aren't you going to expel them?"

McGonagall opened her mouth, perhaps to honestly say that she would after they'd finished her detention, but Remus spoke up first.

"If I may be so bold so as to speak. I must say ... all the blame should be on me. I should have never come to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore. In fact, I should leave now."

Remus rose and turned to leave.

"You will do no such thing," said Dumbledore. "Although, I must ask you to be more careful. Being what you are, you must behave cautiously."

Dumbledore turned to Peter, "I still do not know why you didn't come to me."

He turned to James, "You too, should've come to me. Now off to your lessons ... "

Sirius, James, and Peter all rose to leave. Remus stayed in his chair.

Sirius walked over, "Remmy ... you coming?"

Remus looked at him white-faced, "No."

Dumbledore motioned for them to leave, which they did, but stayed outside the door, listening.

Sirius frowned, "Can't hear anything ..."

"AHAH! Listening in to conversations that do not concern you!" said a voice behind them.

The three whipped around, and Sirius rolled his eyes, "Oh, it's you."

Phineas, too, rolled his eyes, "Yep, me. Now scram!"

"We're going to wait here for Remus," said James.

"From the looks of things ... your wolfy friend if going to be there all day ... crying and BEGGING Dumbledore to PLEASE send him home," drawled Phineas.

Sirius' mouth dropped open, "He's crying!"

He extended his hand to grab the doorknob, but at that moment the door swung open, and Remus pushed past them, head bowed.

"Remus, you're not expelled, are you!"

Remus ran out of the office and down the winding stairs, Sirius at his heels.

"Remus? What happened!"

Remus kept running, past crowds of students, walking to the Great Hall for breakfast, up the stairs.

Sirius ran after him, calling out to him, "Remus! Wait! Please stop!"

Sirius drew his wand, hexing anyone who came between him and Remus, shoving past nosy girls who giggled as he ran by them

"REMUS!"

He saw Remus' robes whip out of sight into the library, and he ran after him, reaching for the doorknob, and stopped dead in his tracks.

There leaning on the door was his dear brother, Regulus.

"Reg, MOVE!" Sirius thrust the wand at Regulus' chest.

"Wouldn't do that," said Regulus quietly as a burly seventh year appeared out of the shadows, wand pointing straight at Sirius.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "So, you've got Evan Rosier as this week's bodyguard! I don't give a damn!"

Regulus shook his head, "Severus told me what you did ... I can't believe you-"

Sirius suddenly grabbed the front of Regulus' robes and threw him from the door. He ran in, looking wildly around for signs of Remus.

"Remus!"

"Mr. Black!" came Madam Pince's annoying and screechy voice. "This is a LIBRARY! We must use indoor voices!"

Sirius ignored her, "REMUS! Where the BLOODY HELL are you!"

"That type of language will not be tolerated! OUT! GET OUT!" Madam Pince towered over him, pointing furiously to the door.

Sirius tried to push past her, but she grabbed his tie and dragged him to the door.

"Get off me, you HAG!" Sirius clawed at his tie, which was now tight enough to choke him.

"And don't EVER come in here, Black!" said Madam Pince as she threw him from her library and slammed the door shut.

Sirius kicked the door, to the amusement of the student in the library, "OLD HAG! I'll get you for THIS!"

Sirius sighed and headed to Gryffindor Tower, ignoring the whispers and giggles that followed him.

Suddenly, James grabbed him from behind, "Hey! Padfoot! Where've you been! Where're you going?"

"Common room ... "

"We've got lessons-"

"I think I'll just skive off everything ..."

"No you won't!" James grabbed Sirius' bag from Peter and thrust it at him. "Here's your stuff, we're going to Transfiguration."

Sirius did so reluctantly and was dismayed to find Remus sitting up from with Kingsley, who was whispering something to him. Remus was shaking his head.

With a sigh, Sirius took his seat next to James, wishing he could disappear.

And it was like that all day, Remus sitting as far away from the rest of the Marauders as he could manage, Sirius wishing he were dead, and James ogling at Lily every time she passed.

But perhaps the last part was just like any ordinary day.

It was in the common room that afternoon that Sirius was able to corner Remus, just as the other was heading up the stairs to the dormitory.

"Remus, please listen to me."

But Remus ignored Sirius and kept climbing up the stairs. Sirius had no choice but to grab his arm, and whirl him around.

"Remus, you're going to listen to me. I am sorry ... SO sorry ... and I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."

"I don't NEED for you to make it up to me!"

Remus pulled his arm out of Sirius' grasp and ran up the stairs. Sirius followed at his heels.

"Remus! I didn't mean to ... I didn't know it would hurt you like this ... I didn't think!"

Remus threw his book-bag down on his bed and faced Sirius, "Yes! That is your problem! You NEVER think!"

"I can make it up to you!" Sirius yelled desperately.

But, Remus shook his head and pulled his bag open, grabbing his Advanced Potion-Making and strode out of the dormitory again.

Sirius' eyes flashed, "Oh! I see, you're going to meet up with _Snivelly_! Is THAT it!"

Remus turned to face him so abruptly, that he ended up being pressed against Sirius, "Thanks to you, he's not talking to me! Thanks to you, I'm going to fail Potions! Thanks to you, people will have another reason not to hire me one way or another!"

He bounded down the stairs, leaving Sirius feeling very hot and bothered. After a few seconds, he recovered his composure and tore after Remus, who was sitting at a table with James and Peter.

Sirius walked over, "I can make it up to you, Remus ..."

Remus threw his quill down, "I don't NEED for you to make it up to me! I don't NEED friends like you! I-"

Sirius' face was white with anger, "Well, you obviously NEED friends like _Snivelly_ and REGULUS! So go on and TRANSFER to Slytherin if you want! Go on to the library to SNOG with that greasy-haired-"

"Shut up, Sirius!" yelled Remus, standing up. "Just because your brother doesn't do exactly what you want him to do all the time, just because you don't have total CONTROL over everything doesn't mean-"

"I AM NOT A CONTROL-FREAK, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE IMPLYING-" roared Sirius, his nose millimeters from Remus'.

"I'M NOT IMPLYING IT! I'm STATING a FACT!" retorted Remus.

They stayed like that for a moment, nose to nose, faces livid, and eyes flashing, unaware that James had just made a bet with half of Gryffindor Tower, unaware that Peter was watching them with his little black eyes darting from one tothe other... unaware that almost everyone in the common room was staring at them ...

A/N: "giggles madly" CLIFFIE! WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?"

How was that? Perhaps a bit slow ... a bit fast? Anything ...!

To Reiko Kobayashi: I can't see ur URL! So I can't see your pic! cries

So anyway: Questions? Comments? Review please!


	11. Scroll 11: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 11: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

They stayed like that for a moment, nose to nose, faces livid, and eyes flashing, unaware that James had just made a bet with half of Gryffindor Tower, unaware that Peter was watching them with his little black eyes darting from one to another ... unaware that almost everyone in the common room was staring at them ...

Without pausing to think about the consequences, without caring if anyone was watching, and seeing only Remus in front of him, Remus blushing a fierce red, Remus' lips parted, just slightly so ...

Sirius cupped Remus' chin and leaned in.

There was a loud crash as someone dropped the jar of water in the corner, breaking it into a million pieces, but it might as well have not happened, because everyone was staring at Sirius and Remus, who seemed to be glued together in the middle of the common room.

Sirius pressed his lips onto Remus' softly at first ... asking ... Remus closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Sirius, pressing him closer.

_'Yes.'_

And they kissed, finally realizing they didn't care who saw, or who knew. Finally realizing they should've always been together ... realizing their true feelings.

They broke apart, avoiding each other's eyes.

James looked at them, eyes wide. Then he began laughing, "All right you lot! Cough up! I'm RICH!"

A crowd gathered around James, handing him Galleons and Sickles; finally the spot-light was off Remus and Sirius.

They walked to their table, slowly, and sat down, next to each other.

"So ..." began Sirius.

"Yeah," finished Remus.

"You forgive me? I did make it up to you," Sirius grinned at the other boy.

Remus laughed, "I guess I do ... seeing as how you were jealous the whole time ..."

"I was not jealous of _Snivelly_! I just ... though that ... you liked him and not me ..."

Remus smirked, "Which means you were jealous."

Sirius laughed and ran a hand through his long, black hair, letting it fall back onto his eyes, "Alright ... maybe just a little ... but I knew the whole time, you were totally in love with me."

Remus laughed as well, shaking his head, "I doubt that ..."

He reached into his robes for his glasses, put them on, and reached for Advanced Potion-Making. For the next few minutes they sat in silence, taking notes and flipping pages.

Then Sirius spoke, "So you don't ... like him better ...?"

Remus looked up and burst out laughing, "Sirius! No! Of course not ... it's just he-"

"I'm RICH!" came James' voice, as he poured a mound of silver and gold coins onto the table. "You guys are ... "

James pretended to sniffle, "So ... awesome ... "

He turned away from them and pretended to cry on Peter's shoulder. Peter's lower lip trembled and he patted James' head, "There, there ..."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look of surprise. Remus turned to him, "James ...?"

James finally straightened up and pushed Peter off him, "Alright ... no more touchy-feely, Wormtail."

He turned to Sirius and Remus, grinning, "I made a bet with almost half of Gryffindor Tower that you were gonna kiss ... and you did! So next time you decide to demonstrate you man-love, call me!"

Sirius tackled him and pinned him to the floor, "You bloody IDIOT!"

* * *

Later that night ...

Remus lied in his bed, on his side, looking at the wall and reliving the day's most special moments. He smiled and touched his lips, blushing at the mere memory.

It had been a wild moment when they had locked lips. He'd felt a swelling inside, like a thirst that was finally quenched by Sirius ... that was their first kiss.

_'I wonder how good the second one will feel ...'_

Remus heard the creak of a bed, somewhere, then felt someone slip into his bed and wrap his arms around him.

"Hey ...?" came Sirius' whisper.

Remus smiled and turned over to face him, "Hey."

"I was thinking ... about my brother ..."

"Regulus?" asked Remus, interested. Sirius had never spoken to him about Regulus before. "What about him ...?"

"When he was younger ... he would ... we were the best of friends, you know ... then I came to Hogwarts and my mum found out I was in Gryffindor from Bellatrix .. you remember her? Tall, black hair ... hung out with Cissa and Malfoy and Lestrange ... remember they set Peter's ankles on fire once ...?"

Remus nodded, "I see ... what changed between you ...?"

"Mum probably poisoned his mind with lies and crap ... nothing was the same after first year ... and now Bella's gone and run off with the death-eaters and they expect me to do the same ... so I said sod it and I ran away. I'm living with James now, didn't I tell you?"

Remus shook his head, "But it's alright ... and what do you mean run off with death-eaters? She's ..."

"Yeah ... my mum was so happy ... ugh. Made me sick."

Sirius looked at the ceiling, "And I'm afraid for Regulus ... he's too soft for the death-eater business ... Regulus ... he isn't like that!"

Remus glanced at James, who shifted in his bed, and Peter who gave a loud snore.

"Sirius, I don't know what to say ... we can try to befriend him ... try to turn him around-"

"Befriend him! He's a SLYTHERIN! No ... if he wants to get killed by Aurors, fine ... I don't give a bloody damn."

"Just because you're in a certain house doesn't-"

"Remus, open your eyes. My whole family was in Slytherin ... try setting a FOOT in it without being pureblood. My whole family ... all worthless Dark wizards ... HALF my family's a death-eater! I mean ... come one ... thankfully, I'm the black sheep."

Remus shrugged, "Just a thought ..."

Sirius leaned close, "Let's not think for a while ..."

He pressed his lips onto Remus' gently, tightening his hold on the boy's waist. It took Remus a second to realize what was happening; he wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck.

They stayed like that for a long time. Sharing secret smiles and grins, quick, shy kisses, and long, passionate ones. It was only when Sirius buried his head onto Remus' shoulder that he fell asleep.

Sirius, though, lied awake for a long time ... thinking ...

**A small boy was lying down on a rather large bed, covers up to his chin, gray eyes wide.**

**A slightly older boy, also gray-eyed, was sitting cross-legged in front of him.**

**"And so, the giant Orion was sent to the sky! And to this day he hunts from the heavens ... with his lion, Leo, his wolf, Lupus, and his most trusted animal, The Big Dog."**

**"Sirius ..." said the smaller boy.**

**The other ran a hand through his long hair, "Yeah, I suppose so ... "**

**"And there's a star in the constellation, Leo-" began the small boy.**

**"Named like you. That's right, Regulus." He hopped down front the bed, "Well, I'll be in the other room. Good-night-"**

**"No! Sirius ... "**

**Sirius turned back to Regulus, "Huh?"**

**"Can you stay with me ... I hate it that I have to sleep alone ..."**

**Sirius rolled his eyes, but nonetheless jumped into bed with him and blew out the candle on the bedside table.**

**"Alright, good-night Reg."**

**"No! Sirius, don't call me that, or I'll call you Siri-sir!"**

**Sirius flinched, "Alright, Re-gu-lus Alphard Black! Good-night."**

**There was a few seconds of silence before Regulus spoke again, "Do the sleep tight thing ..."**

**Sirius sighed, but turned over and hugged his little brother close, "Alright. Good-night, sleep tight, the dog star's watching you all night."**

**Regulus looked out the large window near his bed, "I can see it ..."**

**Sirius grinned, "You can always see it ... no matter where you are ... I'm cool, aren't I!"**

**Regulus rolled his eyes, "Uh-huh ... riiiiight."**

**"Well I'm cooler than Kreacher!"**

**Regulus giggled.**

_Regulus ..._

* * *

When Remus awoke the next morning, he found the dormitory empty, which shocked him, because, one- it was Saturday, and two- James usually always woke everyone up with a pillow to the head, when there was a Quidditch match that day.

He found them downstairs, in the common room, at the usual table, after dressing quickly. They were working very quietly, whispering, and scribbling, all huddled up. Remus' eyes narrowed and he walked up to them as quiet as he could, which was actually almost silently.

"Good morning."

All three heads snapped up at once, and Sirius bumped his against James'.

"OW!" they said at the same time.

Remus sat down and pulled the long roll of parchment they'd been working on, towards him.

"Oh not this again ... "

Sirius rubbed his forehead, "Yep ... we're still doing the Marauder's Map."

"Haven't you finished by now ..?"

"No!" said James, faking outrage. "How dare you ... we need this to be, no ordinary map! This will be THE most extraordinary thing at Hogwarts. We need sealing spells though ...can you get us that weird book from the library Flitwick told us about ... erm ... Invisible Chains: Concealments and Sealing Charms."

Remus frowned, "And you can't get it ... because ...?"

"Because! We're the Marauders! Libraries are for sissies-" James stopped talking when he caught Sirius' eye. "Erm ... and for the Special Marauder Agent Person, of course! And by jolly, that's you Remus!"

"Plus we're too cool for school ..." said Sirius, running a hand through his hair.

"Too sexy!" yelled James.

Remus caught Peter's eye and they exchanged looks of despair, "Don't sing!"

Too late.

"I'm too sexy for my robes!" sang James.

"Too sexy for my tie!" sang Sirius.

"Too sexy for this deal!"

"I'm too sexy for my shirt!"

"Too sexy for my broom!"

"It's all about sex appeal!"

"I'm-"

Remus made his way out of the common room as fast as he could, and to the library.

Once inside, Remus smiled and walked to the Card Catalog. After sifting through many stained, crumpled, and tattered cards, which madam Pince breathing down his neck, he found Invisible Chains.

After shaking Madam Pince off, with a promise to not damage the book in any way, he was allowed into the Restricted Section to find it.

He walked up and down the rows, humming, and searching, searching ...

Finally he found it, grabbed it quickly, and dropped it just as quickly.

There where the book had been, was now a small space in which it was easy for Remus to see through that shelf to the other row. There, in the Potions Section, at the same place he'd set up a cauldron to practice Confusing Concoctions, Severus and Regulus were kissing fiercely.

Remus watched, transfixed, as Regulus moaned into their kiss, reaching under Severus' shirt-

Then he picked up Invisible Chains and ran out of the library, ignoring Madam Pince.

He almost didn't go back to Gryffindor Tower, but though it to obvious to wander off.

"There you are! Remus, what do you think? We finished the floors, we need the grounds, though. Do you think the Whomping Willow goes here, or more to the left?" was Sirius' greeting.

Remus frowned, "A little more to the left."

"Go on, you do it."

Remus scrawled a small tree where the Whomping Willow should be, "There."

"Okay, the lake is going to be hard to do ... we have to do that before starting on the forest. Did you get the book?" asked James excitedly.

"Yes ... I have it. Sirius, there's something you should know ... about Regulus ... "

Sirius rolled his eyes, "What?"

"He was at the library ... "

"The git can read! WOW! That's news to me," said Sirius bitterly.

"With Severus ..."

"And?" demanded Sirius.

"They were ... " Remus' eyes met Sirius' and there was no need for words.

Sirius's mouth dropped open and he seemed speechless. Finally he choked out, "UGH! UGH! I ... I'm-going-to-be-sick!"

With that Sirius ran out, Remus at his heels.

When they reached the bathroom, Sirius was indeed sick. Remus heard him vomiting through the door to the stall.

"Sirius? Are you going to be alright?"

"Do I bloody SOUND alright to you!" was Sirius harsh reply.

Remus sighed and waited, leaning against the wall, and listening to Sirius throwing up.

When he heard the lock sliding and the toilet flush, he moved forward and hugged a very pale Sirius close.

"I shouldn't have said ... I didn't know you'd , I didn't expect ..."

Sirius shook his head, pulled away, and moved towards the sinks, gripping the sides of one tightly.

"That's really ... really nasty ... " said Sirius as he splashed his face with cold water.

"I'm sorry ..."

"Nah, it's fine." Sirius shook his head much like a dog would when trying to shake off water from its fur.

"Let's get down to the Quidditch pitch, I expect the game will be starting soon."

Sirius nodded and took his hand, "Alright. Let's go."

Much to Remus' embarrassment, but secret delight, they walked hand in hand all the way to the Quidditch field.

Most of the students were there, but they managed a good seat.

"Welcome students of Hogwarts to the first Gryffindor versus Slytherin match!" came Kingsley's voice, booming out onto the stadium.

There were cheers as the Gryffindor team flew out.

"On Gryffindor's team, Captain and Seeker, we have James Potter; Chasers, Lucile Dames, Donna Smith, and Marielda Fawcett; Beaters Gideon and Fabian Prewett; and Keeper Edgar Bones."

There were cheers from the other side of the stadium as the Slytherin team flew out.

Suddenly Sirius stood up, eyes flashing, "NO SODDING WAY!"

* * *

A/N: To Reiko Kobayashi: AWSOME pic! LUB it!

Yep, another cliffhanger. But this one's easy ... heh, heh, heh.

Questions, comments, PLZ REVIEW!


	12. Scroll 12: Of Prefects and

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 12: Of Prefects and Switching Spells

"On Gryffindor's team, Captain and Seeker, we have James Potter; Chasers, Lucile Dames, Donna Smith, and Marielda Fawcett; Beaters Gideon and Fabian Prewett; and Keeper Edgar Bones."

There were cheers from the other side of the stadium as the Slytherin team flew out.

Suddenly Sirius stood up, eyes flashing, "NO SODDING WAY!"

Remus frowned and looked over at the green-robed players. He gasped in surprise.

"On the Slytherin team, Captain and Chaser Theodore Nott, along with the other two Chasers Bertram Aubrey and Douglas Rotfur; Beaters, Evan Rosier and Augustus Rookwood-"

Kingsley hesitated, then continued, "-Seeker Severus Snape, and Keeper Regulus ... Black."

There was a murmur among some of the Gryffindors, and they shot quick glances at Sirius before looking back at Regulus.

Sirius stood up, and shouted angrily to the stands, "I'm in NO way related to that asshole! I am ADOPTED!"

Remus giggled and pulled Sirius back down onto the bench, "Regulus looks exactly like you, eyes, hair ... everything. You can't deny him ..."

Sirius gritted his teeth as Madam Hooch released the Snitch, the Bludgers, and finally threw the Quaffle in the air.

The match was like a war. Evan Rosier and Augustus Rookwood batting the Bludgers as hard as they could towards Edgar Bones, but Gideon and Fabian Prewett batted them right back, just as hard.

Severus and James circled the pitch like hawks, looking for the Snitch. Regulus Black, to Sirius' dismay, was an excellent Keeper, blocking every single shot so far, but Edgar was just as good.

Then when Donna Smith finally got past Regulus and scored the first goal ... the Slytherins began their nasty bits of cheating.

Rosier was the one that took out Donna, hitting the Bludger towards her with so much force that he broke his bat in half. Enraged, Fabian swung at Rosier's head with his bat.

Madam Hooch's eyes flashed, "FABIAN! ROSIER! Penalty to Gryffindor, penalty to Slytherin!"

Rosier, though, spun to the ground and landed hard, flat on his face. Fabian had indeed hit his head hard enough to render him unconscious.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle again, "Another penalty for Slytherin!"

Lucile missed her shot and the Slytherins jeered. Theodore Nott missed one, but got past Edgar on his second shot.

Both teams were missing one player, tied with ten points each, and the looks on the Slytherin's players were murderous.

Rookwood had his work cut out for him, the Prewett brothers batted the Bludger towards him at the same time. Panicking, he dived, and the Bludger hit, instead, James.

Severus laughed as James slid sideways off his broom, but managed to grab on, single-handedly, "Well, Potter ... look at the famous player now ..."

With that, Severus lunged at him. James barely managed to swing up on his broom and dive sideways. Bloody-nosed, but still able to stay on his broom, James scanned the field.

Quite suddenly, he lunged at Snape, flat on his broom and dived for the ground. Snape cursed loudly and followed, eyes narrow, looking for the glint of the gold in the green of the field.

James was still determinedly diving at the ground, 50 feet, 40 feet, 30, 20, 10, crash.

Snape hurtled headfirst onto the ground, just as James pulled out of the dive smoothly, grinning arrogantly, "Well _Snapey_ ... look at the infamous git now ... call me when you get a broom that comes close to my Nimbus 1500."

With a wink, James flew off, and was shocked to find out that Slytherin was leading 50 to 40.

James frowned and called for a time-out.

When his team had landed he sighed, "Alright ... they're sodding cheaters ... so to beat them ... we'll have to be bad as well. Take Regulus out! That's the only way. Take that little fourteen year old scrawny faced boy OUT! GOT ME!"

His team nodded, "YEAH!"

"Who are we!"

"WE'RE THE LIONS!"

"That's right! Now let's PLAY Quidditch like never before!"

And they were off again, the two remaining Chasers throwing the Quaffle back and forth, blocking the opposing Chasers. The Prewett brothers were knocking Bludgers left and right. But no one was able to knock Regulus out.

Slytherin was leading 70 to 50.

Sirius cursed vehemently, "ARGH! KNOCK HIM OFF THAT STUPID BROOM! Son of a-"

Remus grabbed his hand, "This is the dirtiest game I have ever watched.

Meanwhile, James was concentrating on what everyone else was doing and shouting out encouragements and advice, he was hardly doing his job at all.

It was only when he felt the whoosh of air, saw the green robes flapping out behind the slimy-haired boy, that he focused with all his might on getting the Snitch before Snape did.

He closed in on Snape from above, the Snitch a few meters away. Hands outstretched, the two fought for the tiny fluttering ball.

James thought desperately for a solution, and in a wild moment, lunged at the Snitch, grabbing onto his broom with one hand only, again.

There was a roar from the Gryffindor stands and James blinked. He was hovering a few feet above the ground, single-handedly, and the Snitch was fluttering madly in his other hand.

They had won.

He swung back on his broom and flew around the stadium, waving his arms and flashing his best smile at the adoring crowd, the Snitch beating its wings madly against his hand.

"We CAME, we SAW, and we bloody CONQUERED!"

He caught sight of red hair, and ran his hand through his own hair, messing it up.

Suddenly, he felt something white hot slash at him, hitting him square on the chest and he was falling ... falling ... falling ... and the last things he could feel was his own lying in a puddle of his own blood and the frantic fluttering of wings.

* * *

James Potter opened his eyes to bright sunlight and blurry figures around him.

"Oy! Where's my glasses!" he yelled, surprised to hear his words were slurred.

He blinked rapidly and stopped at a figure with red hair. Someone helped him up and handed him his glasses. James was surprised to see Lily Evans near him as well as the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and of course his best friends.

"So ... er, what happened after I ... ?" he said in his best 'mature voice.'

"After you were attacked by that slimy git? Oh, a huge fight! I jumped down and grabbed his slimy neck, and forced his stupid face down on the mud."

James rolled his eyes, "So _Snivellus_ attacked me!"

Remus nodded, "I had to give him detention, and take points off."

Sirius frowned at him, "I thought you said prefects couldn't-"

"I lied," said Remus simply, taking hold of Sirius' hand.

Peter cleared his throat nervously, "So, um, anyway ... They whole Slytherin team came and attacked us and everyone was confused and hexes were flying everywhere, until Dumbledore stopped everything. McGonagall's furious ... even Remus has detention!"

James turned to Remus, an eyebrow raised, "Wow ... that must have been bad. And I missed it ... ugh, I suck. So ... so ... who got who?"

James looked around at many four-posters that had the curtains drawn.

"I got the slimy git. You should see his head! I transfigured his hair into snakes!" Sirius laughed as did James.

"And what about Remus? Surely he did something bad to have gotten detention." James looked at them expectantly.

Sirius giggled madly, "You know Evan Rosier? He tried to sneak up on me ... and ended up with his face and his arse switched."

James' mouth dropped open, "You SWITCHED his ... bloody hell! Good job, Moony!"

Remus shook his head, "I shouldn't have done it."

"Yeah well, if you hadn't, I'd probably be missing a leg or something," said Sirius reproachfully.

"I think that's why I did it," replied Remus with a smile.

Lucile, Donna, and Marielda giggled and stared at the two with utmost adoration. Gideon and Fabian pretended to vomit, and Edgar Bones just looked away.

James ran a hand through his hair to mess it up and turned to Lily, "Hello there, Evans. Was there something you wanted to tell me? Or were you just worried about me? Come now, let's be honest."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Don't be an idiot. I was given specific instructions from Professor McGonagall to give you this."

She threw a letter at him and left, flipping her hair over her shoulder. James stared stupidly after her, until Sirius snatched the letter away from him.

"McGonagall says, **'To Mr. Potter and friends: You will serve your detention with Professor Slughorn for the next month at eight o' clock sharp, beginning tomorrow. Should there**-"

"MONTH!" asked James, bewildered.

Remus sighed, "Yup ... month ... that little moment of rule-breaking cost us dearly."

James gaped at him, open-mouthed, "B-b-b-b-but ... What about Quidditch!"

"Ahem!" said Sirius loudly. "**Should there be any special circumstances, please report to me.**"

James grinned, "Great! We can reschedule the detention for Quidditch practices!"

Peter shook his head, "I don't think she was talking about Quidditch."

James looked blank for about a second, then his eyes flickered to Remus, "Oh! Oh ... oh ... damn!"

"Are you all right?" came a voice behind them all.

Everyone turned to look at Regulus, who was looking intently at Remus.

"Severus wanted to know," he explained.

Remus nodded, "Yes. Yes I'm fine ... it missed me and hit Rotfur."

Regulus looked over at the four-poster next to James', " I see. He wasn't aiming for you. He was aiming for the blood traitor."

Sirius gritted his teeth, "My name, if it's slipped your puny brain, is Sirius Black!"

Regulus still looked at Remus, "A true Black would not associate with ... "

Regulus looked around at the Quidditch team and Peter, finally turning back to Remus, looking him up and down, "People, if you please, like these."

Sirius grabbed the front of Regulus' robes and slammed him against a bedpost, "I'm warning you, Reggie. One wrong word, and I swear by Merlin, you'll be very sorry indeed."

"Sirius, it's all right," began Remus, but was cut off by Regulus.

"You think I fear you! Sirius, please, don't be ridiculous. And, anyway, isn't it time everyone knew Remus is really a-"

"Regulus!" came a new voice, from behind a four-poster near the door. Regulus fell silent.

Sirius laughed, "Taking orders from _Snivelly_! Well, isn't this a sight to see? I want to know if he'll still be your BEST friend after he's banged and killed you-"

"Sirius, enough," said Remus, putting a hand on Sirius' arm. "Please, let Regulus go."

It was Regulus' turn to snicker, "Do as you master says, little doggy."

Sirius' eyes widened, but he threw Regulus from him, onto the floor, "Get the bloody hell away from me!"

Madam Promfrey came striding out of her office, "Now REALLY! What is all the racket! Out! All of you, out!"

She ushered all of them out except for Peter, who was, of course, missed.

Once outside, Sirius walked as fast as he could to Gryffindor Tower, Remus at his heels.

"Sirius?" asked Remus gently as he sat next to Sirius on the couch in front of the fire. "Are you alright?"

Sirius reached for him and wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his head onto Remus' shoulder, "Don't ask me anything."

"But-"

"Sh! Don't talk."

With that, Sirius fell back onto the couch, Remus on top of him.

"Sirius, what if someone-"

"Who cares," muttered Sirius.

"Sirius, please-!"

"You talk too much."

Sirius cocked his head and pulled Remus closer, kissing him fiercely.

Remus smiled when they finally broke apart, "Is that the only way to keep me quiet you know?"

Sirius sat up suddenly, and pinned Remus down to the sofa, kissing his neck. He whispered as he nibbled on Remus' ear, "Yes, I think so."

* * *

"Okay, so now we need a sort of password. Something that can't be guessed easily," said James as he tapped the map, wiping it blank, then tapped it again, making all the lines, and notes, and moving dots appear again.

"Something that says ... Marauders!" said Sirius tapping his quill on Invisible Chains: Concealments and Sealing Charms.

"Like the fact there we're always up to no good?" said Remus absentmindedly.

"That's it! I swear that I'm up to no good!" yelled James suddenly.

Sirius grinned, "Yes! Only, let's make it a solemn swear!"

The four stood up and put the tips of their wands on the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

They all stood back and admired their handiwork as the map wiped itself blank.

Then Remus spoke, "Um ... guys ... now the map's locked itself ... how are we going to unlock it ...?"

James' eye twitched, "Didn't ... think of that ..."

"Maybe it'll work the same way ..." suggested Peter.

They all put the tips of their wands to the parchment, but Sirius quickly drew his away, "What'll we say? Mission accomplished?"

Remus burst out laughing, "No! That does NOT say James and Sirius!"

Sirius frowned, "What's that mean? James and Sirius?"

"Well this map IS basically yours ... me and Remus didn't do much!" said Peter, watery eyes bulging.

Sirius pouted, "No! You guys were there with us! Every step of the way! Without you we'd be nothing ... we wouldn't be the Marauders!"

James nodded, "I'm the hot one, Sirius is the cool one, Remus is the smart one, and you, Peter, you're the sneaky dude."

Sirius stared at James disgusted, "Erm no ... I'M the hot one, YOU can be the cool one ... and ... don't say 'dude.' "

"Why not!"

"Because ..." Sirius shook his head, looking disturbed, "Just no ..."

"WHY not!"

"Lily would hate it," said Remus hurriedly.

"Oh! And how would YOU know what Lily thinks!" said James and Sirius at the same time.

"Well ... we spend a lot of time together ..."

"OH, DO YOU!" they said together, again.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Anyway, we've got a month's worth of detention-"

"No, we don't."

Remus turned to James, "What do you mean, 'No we don't.' Of course we do!"

Sirius grinned, catching James' eye, "No we don't."

"What!"

"Follow us, young, naive, innocent ones ... follow us to the secret cavers, which hides the key to our freedom!"

"What the hell is wrong with James? He sounds like Sir Cadogan ..."

Remus giggled, "I really don't know what's up ..."

As for James, he walked ahead of the three, humming merrily to himself, messing up his hair and winking at any girl he met on the way to ... wherever they were going ...

* * *

A/N: SO sorry! SO long without updating! But NOW! Finally! I have a good chappie right? Right! ANYBODY! Is anybody still reading this ...?

And about the whole: James is a Seeker/Chaser thing ... "grins sheepishly" Sorry ... "wink" but me likes the thought of James as a Seeker better.

So anywho ... if there's anyone out there ...

Review Please!


	13. Scroll 13: Runaways and Groovy Mornings

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 13: Runaways and Groovy Mornings

To Remus' dismay, James did not lead them to the kitchens for chocolate, as he had been secretly hoping, but walked straight into the corridor to the dungeons.

It was only when they stopped at Professor Slughorn's office, that Remus caught on.

"James, no!" he said reproachfully. "You KNOW how much Slughorn LOVES me ..."

Peter bit his lip, "Remus is right, James. Just because Remus is a Moony ... Slughorn basically ignores him."

James rolled his eyes, "Enter! Be brave!"

Sirius gripped Remus' hand tighter," He's REALLY scaring me ... and if Slughorn tries anything, he'll have to answer to me."

And they entered the dimly lit room and sat on the silver-lined, green couches, and waited for Slughorn to appear.

It was clear why James wanted to come, other than to convince Professor Slughorn to not give them detention. Lily Evans was sitting near their couch, deep in conversation with a Ravenclaw fourth year.

Severus Snape was also there, he nodded once to Remus, as was Regulus, who merely looked Remus up and down in his cold, calculating way, and smirked.

"So," the Ravenclaw boy was saying. "It'd all work like Muggle vaccines, right? Since their weakness is silver, to use silver as a remedy for the worst symptoms and allow them to ..."

His voice trailed off when he caught Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter staring at him, eyes wide.

"Hello ...?" he said quietly, waving half-heartedly.

"What were you saying!" demanded Sirius.

"That I was just researching! That silver can help! Even if it hurts them!" There was a wild glint in his eye, "I could come up with a potion! And they wouldn't be prejudices or labeled as monsters! They'd keep their minds on the full moons!"

"My dear boy, what are you talking about?" asked Slughorn, bringing out a tray of Chocoballs, chocolate-covered cherries, Darques Dark Chocolate, and in short, every type of chocolate the house elves at Hogwarts had.

"Werewolves," he said simply.

Slughorn frowned as he looked around, eyes coming to rest on Remus, who looked away immediately.

"Ah ... them ... "

Sirius pouted angrily, "Yeah, them! Why, have you got anything against them! Cause if you-"

"Sirius, m'boy! I never said I was prejudiced, no! Ah! I see I have the Black brothers today! Pity, pity, pity ... if only you could have both been in my house-"

"Over my dead body!" Sirius interrupted.

Remus put a hand on his leg, "Sirius ... "

"And who may this be!" Slughorn acted as if it was the first time he'd ever seen Remus.

"I am Remus Lupin."

"Oh, yes of course! One of the 'Marauders' are you! Professor Beckwoods says you are quite the expert in Defense Against Dark Arts."

Remus nodded.

"What she said about today's lesson intrigued me," Slughorn said, sitting down in the large green couch and offering Remus the tray of chocolate.

Remus bit his lip, butgave in to temptation andtook a piece of Darques chocolate, "What about ... today's lesson ..."

"When you were practicing non-verbal shield curses? She tells me you used the Patronus Shield Charm to protect your friend, Mr. Black here, when Mr. Snape tried one of his most unusual curses. Is it true?"

Remus glanced at Sirius before answering, "Yes ... but-"

"I don't believe it! Show me, show me! Go on! Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, stand up! Show me!"

Sirius looked at Slughorn blankly, "WHICH Mr. Black?"

Slughorn paused, "Well, seeing as how you two are such good friends ..." He looked around uncomfortably before speaking again, "Regulus ... go on up."

Regulus stood up and drew his wand, pointing it at Remus, who drew his wand reluctantly.

Remus glanced at Sirius, unsure of what to do. Sirius only rolled his eyes and mouthed, 'Kill him!'

Regulus raised his wand, "_Serpentia Expellmius!_"

But Remus waved his wand in a horizontal motion, brow furrowed with concentration. There was a bright flash of dark green light clashing with the blue of Remus' wolf Patronus. The spell, which looked like two snakes coiling their way to Remus, frantically, was reflected back to Regulus. It hit him in the stomach and he doubled over. Severus and Remus were at his side the next moment. Slughorn laughing, yet looking concerned for Regulus.

"That was SOME show! Perfect form! Corporeal Patronus to boot! Mr. Black, how are you feeling?"

But Regulus seemed unable to speak. He was holding his stomach, the quite suddenly, something long and green slithered out of his mouth.

Remus gasped, "Oh dear god!"

Even Sirius stood up and watched as Regulus choked on the long green snake that wound his way out of his stomach.

"Make it stop!" yelled Sirius, unexpectedly.

Remus pointed his wand, in his shaking hand, at Regulus' stomach, "_Finite Expellmius!_ It's not working! Sirius!"

But Snape pinned Regulus down onto the floor and did a quick sort of prodding move with his wand, and then the snake was gone and Regulus was sitting up with Snape's help, coughing up a lot of ash.

Sirius glared at Snape, "And ... so ... THAT was what you were planning to do to Remus! You arsehole! You deserved it! Both of you will burn in hell."

Professor Slughorn cleared his throat, "Now, now, sit, sit. That was brilliant! All of you! Have a chocolate!"

Everybody was quite shaken by the incident, and Regulus kept spitting out ashes. Finally he said, "So what were you saying Damocles? About werewolves?"

Damocles Belby beamed, "If there was only a potion that would allow a werewolf to keep his or her mind-?"

"How do you know they don't keep their minds when they transform!" demanded Sirius angrily.

"And how do you know that a monster like that can be affected at all by a mere potion?" mused Regulus.

"Shut up, you!"

"You shut up, Sirius!"

"No one asked your stupid opinion-"

"AND what would be the ingredients necessary for the composition of said potion?" said Slughorn, restoring order.

"Well, Wolfsbane, of course, and maybe moonstone-?"

"Wouldn't Wolfsbane kill?"

Damocles turned to Remus who had at last spoken, "Yes, but countered with Moonstone ... and perhaps Flobberworm slime ..."

Remus smiled, "That would do much ... Wolfsbane is much too powerful ..."

Damocles paused, then spoke, "Then ... "

"Then if you added sedatives and only used a minimum amount of Wolfsbane ..." Snape said.

Remus smiled at Snape, who just looked at him for a moment, before looking away.

And much to Sirius' and Peter's dismay, the whole 'Slug Club' meeting was focused on potions and their effects.

"One has to wonder, though, how Fenrir Greyback always strikes the very person he aims for ... he always ... hunts that person down ... " Remus paused, looking around, then continued, "Makes you wonder if ... he keeps his mind ... and why ..."

Sirius nudged James, "Well, let's get your stupid plan in motion!"

James blinked for what seemed the first time in over an hour, "Huh? Plan ...? Oh! Oh yeah ..."

He cleared his throat, "Professor Slughorn? A private word with me and Remus?"

Slughorn happily walked out to the stairs with the two boys.

"What is it boys?"

"Well ... Professor Slughorn ... would you not say that Mr. Damocles Belby of Ravenclaw House is a good contact?"

Slughorn smiled, "Yes indeed, a wonder how you found him-"

"And that you enjoy Lily Evans' company immensely?"

"Well, yes, yes, quite, of course. One cannot deny she is most-"

"And ... would you not agree that Mr. Remus Lupin is an interesting young man with valuable knowledge that he acquires from the countless books he reads?"

Remus turned a bit red at James' words.

"Oho! Yes, yes! One would have never though ... not to be prejudiced of course, but-"

"And do you not agree that fine young men like Mr. Remus Lupin and his Marauder friends should have time to acquire such valuable knowledge and present to people of knowledge ... such as yourself, Professor Slughorn!"

"Yes, yes, I do think-"

"And would not detention get in the way of all these things ... not to mention important Slug Club meetings!"

"Well, all depending on-"

"So it's settled! We are free from the terrible punishment of detention! I thank you Professor Slughorn!"

"Now, now, wait just one moment! I never said-"

"As a token of my gratitude, I will personally make sure that Mr. Belby, Mr. Lupin, and the very charming ... very beautiful ... ahem, Ms. Lily Evans is present at the Slug Club meetings as much as possible!"

Professor Slughorn stopped arguing at that. He winked at them, "I see. Well, m'boy, you've got yourself a deal!"

Remus couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed. One: it was the best bit of trickery he'd ever seen James manage (and he'd seen quite a lot); Two: Professor Slughorn had just accepted a bribe ...

Remus shook his head and resumed his seat next to Sirius, on the dark green couch in front of Severus and Regulus. The three were glaring daggers at each other, but Remus merely looked away.

_'This is going to be a long night ...'_

But as it turns out, it wasn't. Nothing much happened, except when Severus motioned for Remus to follow him, away from he dungeons, away from everybody, and to the library.

Hours later, in the dead of night, when most people are in the deepest sleep, Remus lay awake, sitting near the dormitory window, thinking ... just thinking ... just reminiscing:

**:Flashback:**

Remus leaned against the bookshelf watching Severus measure potion ingredients and dump them into their small cauldron.

"Severus? I've never seen you get any mail ... don't your-"

"No. They don't," said Snape shortly.

Remus bit his lip, "Oh ... Severus ... what's it like ... to-?"

"Life's a bitch, Remus. I've gotten pretty used to it. Only, I feel sorry for mum. But that's all."

Remus looked at the floor, "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to-"

"What it like, Remus? To be ... what you are?"

"It's ... I remember ... it was hard ... at first. My parents ... my mum never really accepted it. My father, to this day, feels guilty ... They tried everything. But ... in the end ..."

"There's no cure."

"Right." Remus looked at the floor, debating whether it was a good time to talk about what he was planning to talk about next.

But it was Severus who brought up the subject, "It meant nothing. It can't mean anything."

Remus pursed his lips, "Severus ... I doubt all you wanted me for was to show me the correct composition of the Polyjuice potion."

"Correct. We're done."

Severus looked up at him, cold black eyes glittering, "If things were different ... if ... you weren't ... and if I wasn't ..."

"What?"

"I want you to know, after this evening, everything will be like it was before ... You're not my friend and I'm not yours."

With that Snape stood up, as did Remus.

"That doesn't mean ... we're enemies ... "

Severus leaned close to Remus, but pulled back when Remus backed away.

"I don't know what it means."

Snape turned to leave, but Remus caught hold of his sleeve, "Just because you're in Slytherin, and I'm in Gryffindor, and we happen to respectively like a pair of brothers who hate each other's guts ... that doesn't mean-"

Remus was cut off by Snape leaning in again, this time pulling Remus forcefully against him.

It was a short kiss ... a warning kiss ... rough and demanding on Severus' part.

"It doesn't mean anything ... nothing ever does. No one ever does. Good-bye, Lupin."

**:End:**

Remus sighed and pressed his forehead against the cold glass of the window. 

_**'It doesn't mean anything ... nothing ever does. No one ever does.'**_

_'That's what frightened me the most ... the meaning behind it all ... what's going on ...! And his eyes ... they'd seemed so empty ... so cold ... so full of nothing ..._

_It's true ... he doesn't know ... what the meaning of loving, trusting, caring ... he just doesn't know!'_

"What are you doing?" came a sleepy voice from the four-poster next to him.

Remus stood up from the chair near the window and walked over to Sirius' bed, "Thinking ... that's all."

"About what?" Sirius raises an eyebrow, now fully awake.

"Things ..." said Remus simply, sitting at the foot of Sirius' bed.

"Like things that you and _Snivellus_ do in the library?"

Remus sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about ..."

Remus looked away for a second, and suddenly he was pinned onto Sirius' bed by a big black dog. The dog sniffed his collar, his clothes, his hair ... finally licking his face.

Remus giggled a bit, "Padfoot ... stop ... Padfoot-"

"You have his scent on you," said Sirius, suddenly returned to human form.

"Huh?" Remus looked at the ceiling, "Yeah so?"

Sirius got off him and merely stood in front of him, arms crossed and pouting angrily.

"Why do you have his scent on you!"

"How do YOU know his scent?" asked Remus.

"Stop changing the subject! Did you kiss again!" Sirius's eyes were narrowed dangerously.

Remus looked out the window, "Wow ... it's almost full moon again ..."

"You did, didn't you! Remus ... what the heck-"

"SHUT UP!" came James' sleepy voice from behind his four-poster.

Sirius glared at the curtains and pushed Remus farther onto the bed, while getting on and pulling his own curtains closed.

"_Muffliato,_" he muttered and threw his wand back on his bed-side table.

Remus just stared at him, eyes wide, face blanched, shirt pulled off one shoulder, "What are you ... what are you going to do to me?"

Sirius just sat there, cross-legged and frowning at him.

Remus looked over at him, concerned, "Sirius ... I don't know ... what it is ... you-"

"What are you playing at!"

Remus fell silent at Sirius' outburst.

"I mean, I thought we ... then you go around kissing _Snivellus_! What the hell is wrong with you!"

When Remus didn't say anything, Sirius, cheeks flushed, continued, "You better make up your mind, man! What's it going to be, me or _Snivelly_!"

Remus gaped at him. Suddenly he started laughing, "You're SUCH a child Sirius!"

Sirius glared at Remus, "Give me a straight answer!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius' eyes traveled over the folds of the blankets curled under Remus, "I want to know ... if we're going to get serious or what ... if you want me to get on one knee and ask you ... I will ... I just want to know ... you know ..."

Remus stopped smiling and crawled over to Sirius, "You're not making any sense ..."

"Maybe ... you don't want me to make sense ... maybe you want to avoid it all?"

Sirius looked up, into Remus' eyes. Remus held his gaze for a few seconds before looking down at his hands.

Sirius slowly reached over and took hold of Remus' hand with both of his.

He kissed it lightly, "Remus ... this is so stupid ... will you be ... this is the only word I can think of ... my boyfriend ...?"

Remus' eyes widened, "Sirius? Are you feeling okay? Maybe we should go to the Infirmary-"

"Answer me! Is this serious or not! Are we going anywhere with this ... or was it just a crush ... something you get over after one kiss?"

Remus reached over to Sirius and brushed the hair out of his eyes, "No, it was not. Yes I will be, on one condition."

Sirius' eyes narrowed, "What!"

"Never, ever, ever, EVER again ... call me your boyfriend! It's just ... not you ... okay?"

Sirius let out his trademark 'bark-laugh', "Point taken!"

Remus grinned and let himself be taken into Sirius' arms and pinned down, and kissed.

"Sirius ...?"

"Mmm?"

"Stop licking me!"

Sirius stopped licking Remus' neck, and blinked, "Oops ... sorry. It's a habit. But, come off it! Don't pretend you didn't like it!"

Remus squirmed under Sirius who was licking his neck, his collarbone, dipping lower-

"What the bloody hell-!" yelled James, rubbing his eyes.

He pulled the curtains open and froze when he saw Sirius on top of Remus whose legs were at either side of Sirius' body ... a very embarrassing position to be in.

Peter tried to peek in as well, but James covered his eyes and led him away, "Trust me ... you don't want to see that!"

**:Flashback:**

A small gray-eyed boy walked over to a dark-haired woman, who was sitting on a silver chair, beaconing to him. Two tall girls stood silently at either side of her. One was fair and delicate, the other dark and heavy browed.

"Regulus! My one true son!" she said, taking his into her arms.

Near the dirty window, sitting in front of the fireplace, which had no fire in it, sat an older gray-eyed boy, reading, but his eyes unmoving.

"None of those filthy blood-traitors, and half-bloods, and mud-bloods, and creatures for you! No, no ... you have respectable friends! Rosier! Aubrey! And that nice boy who knew Malfoy, Snape is his name?"

"Yes. Snape. Severus Snape."

"Yes, of course. I am so proud you were sorted into Slytherin. Imagine the shame if another one of our- but no matter of that dreadful Sirius boy! Regulus ... Bellatrix and Narcissa are here to talk to you about a very serious matter."

"It is about the Dark Lord?" Regulus asked, and the other, older, boy put his book down and turned to look at him.

"I have already decided, Bella."

Bellatrix frowned, "Regulus, I don't think-"

"I have already decided! You can't make me change my mind!"

Sirius grinned, satisfied.

_'Good of him, finally learning to take change. Bella can't control him like a pawn anymore!'_

Bella sighed and turned away, "Then be it on your own head."

"Yes. It probably will." Regulus turned to face Sirius, face blank, "I will join the Death Eaters upon exiting Hogwarts."

Sirius was speechless, "WHAT! You idiot!"

Regulus strode away, up the stairs to his room, Sirius at his heels, "You're going to get killed Regulus!"

Regulus whirled around to face him, "Why! Because you think of me as a coward! Because you-"

"NO! You're going to get killed because you CAN'T kill! You're not Death Eater material!"

"Oh! And you are-"

"How DARE you! And no! Regulus ... you're too ... easily influenced!"

"Meaning I've no will of my own! Listen Sirius, I'm not like you! I'm going to do what is right!"

"You're doing what mum wants you to!"

"I'm DOING what YOU should have done! You betrayed us ... you betrayed us all ... the Black name ... pure-blood wizards everywhere ... our family ..."

Sirius' eyes narrowed, "At least I didn't betray MYSELF!"

With that, Sirius ran to his room, leaving Regulus leaning against a wall, looking at the floor.

Sirius left his home for James' a few minutes later.

**:End:**

"Sirius?"

Sirius jumped and looked down at Remus, lying peacefully on his chest, "Yeah?"

"What are you worried about?"

"Nothing ... something stupid."

"It's about Regulus isn't it? And about Severus ..."

"Yeah ... it's about Regulus AND Severus ..."

Remus propped himself up on his elbows, "Oh. I see ..."

Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes, "I told you ... Regulus ... we should have gotten to know him ... gotten closer ... from what you've told me, he's-"

"Easily influenced. And Severus is not a nice enemy to have. I know ... I know ... but what could I have done!"

Remus smiled sympathetically, "I don't know ... "

He sat up and pulled the curtains apart to find James and peter dressing.

James grinned, "Groovy morning, isn't it!"

The other three stared at him, poker-faced.

Finally Sirius spoke, "James just said, 'Groovy.' Yup, it's a sure sign of the apocalypse!"


	14. Scroll 14: Werewolves and Quidditch

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 14: Werewolves and Quidditch

"WHY are we doing this again?" asked Sirius in a bored voice as they walked towards a red telephone booth.

"Because I'm now seventeen, and it's the law, and you wanted to come," replied Remus simply.

"Well, yeah, I wanted to go OUTSIDE, but not to the Ministry of Magic!"

"I didn't BEG you to come along you know. If you want I'll met you up in Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"And what? Leave you to face those decrepit hags in the Werewolf Registry alone? Yeah right."

Sirius pulled the door open, "Anyway, can't we wait until you're out of Hogwarts?"

Remus shook his head and picked up the receiver, "Six, two, four, four, two, right?"

Sirius nodded and leaned against the glass of the booth.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business," came the cool female voice.

"Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, here to register in the Werewolf Registry," muttered Sirius darkly.

"Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes," she said as two badges slid out of the metal chute.

Sirius grabbed them and rolled his eyes, "Can we hurry this up! I have things to do, places to be at, stuff to blow up!"

Remus laughed as he took his badge, 'Remus Lupin - Werewolf Registry.'

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand fir registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium," the voice said as the booth sank into the pavement."

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said Sirius in a mocking tone.

The booth's door slid open as the voice said, "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."

"Ugh, this is so stupid. As if you're a criminal or something! I hate it ..."

Remus shrugged and they walked to the security desk where an old wizard in blue robes stood.

He passed a long golden rod up and down Remus' front and back, and proceeded to do the same with Sirius.

"Wand?" he grunted and Remus handed him his first.

The man dropped it onto a scale with one dish. It shook for a few seconds and produced a small piece of parchment.

"Twelve inches, Willow, and Unicorn Hair, been in use seven years?"

"That's right."

The man handed Remus his wand back and took Sirius'.

"Eleven and a half inches, Ash and Dragon-Heartstring, been in use seven years?"

"Yep."

Alright then, you can go, elevator' down the hall to your right."

Sirius snatched his wand and grabbed Remus' arm, "This is all bullshit. I bet you there are at least seven Death-Eaters on this floor alone, right now!"

Remus sighed, "Sirius, be ... realistic."

"You were gonna say 'serious' weren't you? And I am! They're ... everywhere ..." finished Sirius dramatically as they entered the elevator which was crammed with passengers."

They descended down, down, stopping at each floor and wizards came and got off the lift. Finally they reached the fourth floor.

"Level Four for the Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts, incorporating the Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau."

Sirius huffed and pulled Remus out by the arm, shoving wizards and witches aside.

"Magical BEASTS, honestly! Now where do we go?"

Remus motioned to a Directory to their left. They walked over and Sirius moved his finger down the list of Divisions and Sub-Divisions and such.

The Directory giggled and Sirius pulled away, "That tickles!"

"What in the bloody hell!" asked Sirius bewildered.

The list suddenly flashed a red light that scanned all the way to the bottom and the sign spoke again, "Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

"Hey, Remus, check this out!"

Sirius pointed to a small yellow box on the sign with the words: You Are Here.

Sirius moved to the left and the small box did as well. Sirius took a step back and the box moved as well, a step forward, as did the box, "Cool!"

"Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

"Sirius!" Remus shook his head, "Stop fooling around!"

"Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

Sirius pouted, "You're no fun, Remus!"

"Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

"The quicker I register, the quicker we can get to Diagon Alley!"

"Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

Sirius frowned, "Fine, fine! And you, SHUT UP!"

He yelled at the sign which merely flashed the red light, scanned the list all the way to the bottom and said, "Search incorrect. Please restate the name of the Division or Sub-Division you seek."

Remus shook his head and spoke to the sign, "Beast Division, Werewolf Registry."

The sign flashed red and found it, "Walk down the hall and through the door to your right."

The little yellow boxes moved on the sign to show them.

"There, past the Werewolf Capture Unit, to you left."

The little boxes flashed red when they found the registry.

Sirius grabbed Remus' arm and they walked down the hall, past the Spirit Division. A couple of ghosts sat in the waiting room looking glum.

Sirius grinned at them, "This place seems a little DEAD! Let me LIVEN you guys up!"

The two stared at him and Remus hid his face.

Sirius sighed, "Have you been waiting here long, or did you miss your appointment because you were LATE?"

The two ghosts just stared at him.

"So how did you two kick the bucket?"

One of them sighed, "Suicide."

The other looked away, "Car crash. I should've never got into that Muggle vehicle!"

Sirius' face went white, "Oh ... I'm ... very sorry ... gotta go!"

He grabbed Remus arm and walked away as fast as he could.

"Sirius! How could you!"

"I didn't know it was so ... tragic!"

They passed the Experimental Breeding Division where a red-faced wizard in blue robes was arguing with a thing woman.

"That is a DOG! I would NEVER cross-breed!"

"THEN HOW COME IT BLOWS FIRE THROUGH ITS-"

There was a loud boom from within and Sirius and Remus sped off.

Finally they reached the Werewolf Capture Unit. They took one look inside and Remus blanched.

There were a few wolf heads lining the walls and ripped portraits of Werewolf-Hunters with dead wolves at their feet.

Sirius led a very white Remus away.

"The heads ... don't werewolves turn back into humans if they're killed?"

Remus looked green and sick, "They ... were mistaken ... they're real wolves ..."

And at last, they reached the Werewolf Registry. They didn't have to wait long, for there was no one else there. A few minutes after they had sat down, they were called into a small office to the side.

The first thing Sirius saw when they walked in, was a small toad-like woman sitting on a chair, looking highly superior. Sirius hated her at first sight.

The second thing he noticed was that almost everything inside was frilly, laced, or white.

"Hem, hem," was her greeting. She had a high-pitched girly voice. "One half-breed at a time, if you don't mind."

Sirius' cheeks reddened, "Excuse me! My-"

Remus cut him off, "I am the werewolf. My friend is just accompanying me-"

"Well then he can wait outside."

"Maybe I don't want to!" yelled Sirius.

She glared at him and stood up, "If you-"

"Listen little woman! If you don't want Remus tearing you limb from limb, I suggest you shut up, sit down like a good little toad, and register him!"

She gasped and fell back. Nonetheless she sat back down.

"Sit," she commanded and Remus sat, Sirius standing behind him like a guard.

"I am Dolores Umbridge, Head of the Half-Breed Registry, or as you say ... werewolves. Name!"

"Remus J. Lupin."

"What does the 'J' stand for!"

"John," Remus muttered.

"Date of Birth?"

This continued for a long while. She asked for his current residence: his parent's house; job or career plans: none; how he dealt with the full moon: he lied that he went home for the three days before and at the full moon as Dumbledore instructed (Sirius sniggered); was he alone or was there someone present at the full moon: lie; had he had any accidents or close calls: another lie and another snigger from Sirius; how did being a werewolf make him feel: lie; personality as a human: just a tiny lie; was he aware of the Werewolf Code of Conduct: Yes; and finally, any concerns or questions: No.

Dolores Umbridge handed his a flier with the Werewolf Code of Conduct, and Ten Ways To Prevent Incidents on the Full Moon printed on it. She had obviously written the Ten Ways because number one was: 1) Hand yourself over to the Werewolf Capture Unit.

"Now," she stood up and looked over at them. "Proceed to the next room where your picture will be taken for your Werewolf identification."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "What's that for!"

She gave him a twisted smile, "So we'll always know where he's working. I'm working on a new law that gives the employer the choice of denying people like ... him, jobs."

Sirius emitted a sound that sounded suspiciously like a growl from the back of his throat.

Remus just smiled and walked into the next room.

A few camera flashes, twisted smiles from Umbridge, a ride up the telephone booth and they were free.

"Can you believe that sadistic bi-"

"People like ... me ... are not usually trusted."

Sirius grumbled, but them thought of something, "Hey, let me see your W.I.D."

Remus passed him the Werewolf Identification.

"Hey, you're not looking too shabby in this picture ..."

Sirius winked at the picture, who blushed and looked away.

Remus smiled, "Good. That's a first. Well, now we're off to Diagon Alley. Are you sure you're going to try out for the Quidditch Team?"

"Yes I am! If Regulus is going to be Keeper for his, I'm gonna be Chaser for mine! And James too, but he'll need to find a new Seeker ... maybe you can play too!"

Remus stared at him, "And slip off my broom sideways, landing in a heap on the mud!"

"Come off it, I can teach you!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No!"

"Just try!"

"No."

"For me!"

"No!"

"Oh that right there ... that's just cold Moony."

"Just shut up and walk!" Remus said laughingly as he pushed Sirius into the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

"You're what!" Sirius said as he stood up. 

"Head Boy," replied James miserably, throwing and catching his Head Boy badge.

"Say WHAT!"

"Head Boy, Sirius."

"I DID NOT hear that!"

"I'm the bloody Head BOY!"

Peter and Sirius stared at James as if he was contagious, "EW! Gross! Get out of our compartment!"

James pushed his glasses up his nose, "My point exactly. Dumbledore musta finally cracked and gotten me mixed up with Moony."

Remus looked up from his book, "No, Dumbledore must have done it for a reason."

Sirius grabbed James' sweater and pulled him out of their compartment, "You're sick and gross and nasty! Get out!"

James gaped at him, "But-"

Suddenly he saw a flash of red hair, "Sirius no! Don't do this!"

Sirius just flashed him a grin and raised his wand, "All for one and one for all, catch your pants before they _fall_!"

There was a flash of blue light and James was thrown backwards, pants around his ankles, red-faced, humiliated, and to top it off, at Lily Evan's feet.

He looked up, and was surprised to hear his 'Mature-voice' kick into gear, "Hullo there, Evans."

Had she ignored him, or rolled her eyes at him, or even insulted him for having Golden Snitches on his underwear, James wouldn't have done anything stupid.

But she didn't.

She giggled.

She looked down and giggled, and James jumped up and pulled his pants up and yelled, "Stop laughing! And ... for your information ... I don't care what you think anymore! I ... you're not even pretty!"

He pulled the compartment's door open forcefully and walked in, still red-faced. He took one last look at her, she was standing there, hand over her mouth, and slammed the door shut.

Once inside, James turned to Sirius, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT ABOUT!"

Sirius shrugged, "Just having some fun-"

"THAT WAS NOT FUN! OR FUNNY! DON'T LAUGH!"

But Sirius and Peter were already giggling madly. Remus just sighed, "Hey ... James ... no big deal, right? It could've been worse."

"I CALLED HER UGLY!"

Remus gasped, as did Sirius and Peter, who suddenly stopped giggling.

"Oh dear ..." Remus frowned.

Sirius cleared his throat, "Sit down Prongs."

James walked over and sat next to Sirius, who put an arm around him.

"Listen Prongs, I'm going to be blunt."

"When are you not!" James interrupted.

"You did ... something unbelievably ... stupid."

James rolled his eyes, "I kinda figured ..."

"But ... all is not lost! In fact, maybe if she thinks you've lost interest in her, she'll come running after you!"

James looked at Sirius, "Padfoot, you're high."

James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "Or maybe you're not. In any case, my chances with Lily Evans just went out the window."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the compartment door slid open.

Lily Evans stood there, in her uniform, the Head Girl's badge shining on her robes.

She smiled at James, "Hullo there, Potter."

James was glad he didn't have his glasses on and hid his red face in his hands.

Lily looked around, "Professor Slughorn told me to invite you all to the front compartment of the train."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Every year he gets on he train and invites us, and every year we turn him down. What makes you think we're going to go now!"

James sighed, "Because ... let's just go, okay, Sirius?"

Sirius stared at him, "US! The Slug Club ... AGAIN!"

"They have free food ..."

Peter smiled, "I'm there!"

* * *

Sirius grabbed his new Shooting Star 170 and looked at Remus, who was reading on his bed, "Wanna come watch the tryouts?" 

Remus looked up and nodded, "All right then."

He took his glasses off, put them safely away and walked alongside Sirius.

Sirius opened his mouth a few times, and Remus looked at him hopefully, but it always ended in a sigh or a smile.

Remus would just smile back.

_'He's been really ... cold ... well, no. Not cold. Just ... not ... what we used to be ...'_

"You know," Remus began. "If you make the team, I'll have to sit in the stands with only Peter."

Sirius laughed, "Cut him some slack. Plus, you'll be too into the game to care. I'm going to whip Regulus' arse!"

Remus looked at the ground, "Since the first day, that's all you've been talking about."

Sirius looked at him curiously, "Your point ...?"

Remus too looked at Sirius, with a hurt expression, "Never ... never mind."

Sirius sighed and grabbed Remus' hand, "Oh, I get it ... is that it?"

Remus nodded.

They walked to the pitch in silence, Remus feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Sirius' hands did not comfort him. It wasn't like it used to be.

At all.

They finally parted ways and Remus watched the tryouts.

Not many of the students there were particularly good fliers.

Then, there was a surprise. James would be taking one of the Chaser positions, obviously, to work with Sirius.

Yes, in the end, as Remus knew it, they kept the Prewett brothers as Beaters, kept Edgar Bones as Keeper, and Donna Smith as one of the Chasers. Sirius and James were the other two, and to everyone's surprise, Lily Evans would be the new Seeker.

Afterward, while everyone was heading to Gryffindor Tower, happily trooping upstairs to celebrate, Sirius pulled Remus away from the crowds, and under the stands.

Remus just stared at him, "What ... is it ...?"

Sirius grinned, "You're happy for me right!"

"I am, yes."

"Then ... why don't you look it?"

"Because ..." Remus shook his head, "No ... it's selfish. I'm sorry-"

Remus made as if to leave, but Sirius pulled him back.

"Moony ... stay. Just tell me."

Remus sat down again, "Well ... you know ... if we ... you don't ... Quidditch practice ... it's going to ... we're not going to see each other a lot!"

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh, "Oh come off it! Yeah we will!"

"How?"

"Hey, I'm Sirius Black! I can do anything, remember?"

Remus smiled, "Honestly ... "

Sirius took both of Remus' hands into his, "Nothing has changed ... I was just nervous about tryouts-"

"You, nervous! WHY!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Even I don't know. But, back to the point! We're still together Remus ... and ... no, never mind. It's too soon."

"What is?"

"Nothing!"

"Sirius, tell me!"

Sirius suddenly pinned Remus down, onto the dirt, "How about we just snog?"

Remus laughed, "That's good too."

Many, many minutes later they walked out onto the grounds, walking hand in hands as Remus knew they always should. Sirius looked up at the sky.

"Hey look! LOOK! It's my star!"

Remus laughed and looked over at where Sirius pointed.

"Indeed it is Sirius, the Dog Star."

"And that's Canis Major!"

Remus nodded, "Yeah ... and over there is Leo and Regu-"

"And there's the moon!" Sirius cut him off. He obviously didn't even want to hear the mention of the star Regulus.

"Yes, that's the moon."

Sirius smiled, "The Moony moon."

Remus smiled as well, "Oy ... Sirius ... ? What's your middle name?"

"What gave you the idea I had a middle name?"

"I'm just wondering ..."

"Okay, Moony. I'll tell you. But promise NOT to laugh!"

Remus held up his hand, "I solemnly swear."

Sirius grinned, "Right then. I was named after my dad. He wasn't a bad sort of man ... although I never saw his bad side ... "

"He died before you came to Hogwarts right?"

"Yep ... well, you know my family's big on stars and constellations ... it's Orion."

"Orion! Wow ... that's cool ..."

"No it's not. My full name is Sirius Orion Black."

"So?"

Sirius looked up at the sky, pouting angrily, "What're my initials, Moony?"

"S. O-oh ... I see ..."

"So basically, my initials are totally right. My mum is a-"

"Don't, Sirius ..."

Sirius shrugged, "And Regulus is Really A Bastard! Hah!"

Remus laughed, "Well, it's one good thing, right?"

"It's a start, yes ... that git's going to join the Death Eaters ... I can't believe he'd just throw everything away!"

Remus put his head on Sirius' shoulder, "Let's not think-"

"Exactly! Let's just walk around. You know, Moony. Me and you-"

"You mean you and I?"

"ANYWAY! I'm trying to make a point! Ahem! YOU and I ... we're the brightest things in the night sky."

"It rhymes," said Remus cheerfully,

Sirius frowned, "Yuck, you're right."

"Anyway, what do you mean?"

"You're the moon ... I'm the brightest star ... we shine even in the darkest light! Because WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! This calls for a song, sing with me Moony!"

Remus shook his head, "Honestly ..."

But Sirius just kept singing, "I've paid my dues! Time after time! I've done my sentence! But committed no crime! And bad mistakes! I've made a few!"

He kept singing in the halls, up the stairs, walking hand in hand with Remus, who joined in the chorus half-heartedly.

"Okay, Moony, sing 'We're the Marauders', okay?"

Remus just rolled his eyes and sang along.

"We're the Marauders- my friends! And we'll keep on fighting till the end! We're the Marauders! We're the Marauders! No time for Snivellies! 'Cause we're the Marauders- of the world!"

* * *

A/N: I unintentionally foreshadowed Sirius' wronged imprisonment in Azkaban in the lyrics: I've done my sentence but comitted no crime. 

So yeah, wow! Last year at Hogwarts! Lily and James romance! THEFIC WILL DOES NOT END WHEN HOGWARTS ENDS! It goes a little beyond Hogwarts! So don't worry your little heads ... "anyone worrying?"

Ahem! So ... Comments, questions, shtick? Review please!


	15. Scroll 15: Goodbye Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 15: Good-bye Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Sirius bit his lip and checked his reflection in the mirror James had tacked between his and Sirius' beds since second year.

Remus looked over at him and shook his head, "It's no big deal. Don't worry."

Sirius began pacing, "Not a big DEAL! What planet are you on! This is a BIG match! the first match of the year! MY FIRST MATCH EVER! AGAINST THAT SODDING LOSER!"

Remus put his book down, "You're shouting. This is serious, Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Stop messing! This is BIG man! Really big! What time is it!"

Remus stretched, "Let's get down to the pitch."

Sirius spun around, "It's time! IS IT TIME! Oh I'm going to shove his face into the MUD!"

Remus said nothing, but frowned slightly.

Sirius chewed on his lip, "C'mon! C'mon! I have to put on my robes!"

Sirius grabbed Remus' arm and dragged him out. After he'd changed, Sirius walked over to where Remus was waiting, before the Pre-Match Pep Talk.

The first thing Remus did, predictably, was straighten up Sirius' robes, carefully folding the collar of the hood back.

"Remus! Don't bother ..."

Remus ignored him and fiddled with Sirius' shirt, "Now ... don't be stubborn-"

Sirius grabbed Remus' wrists, "Moony! They're just going to get messed up anyway! I just ... wanted ..."

Remus frowned a bit, "Wanted ...?"

Sirius cupped Remus' face and tilted it upwards, "A kiss ...?"

Sirius pressed his lips onto Remus' slowly, just as he knew Remus liked it.

They heard someone clear their throat behind Sirius and they broke apart.

James was there, arms crossed, tapping his foot, "Sirius! Play now, snog later!"

Sirius grinned and ran to James, leaving Remus to find Peter in the stands.

When Remus had told Sirius the last match between Slytherin and Gryffindor last year had been the dirtiest Quidditch game he'd ever see ... he was wrong.

Madam Hooch was having one hell of a time trying to determine who had done what foul. Sirius and James were a sight. It was as if they sensed each other ... as if they knew exactly where the other was. They were in perfect sync and it wasn't long before Gryffindor was in the lead.

Regulus was furious, for nothing like this had ever happened. He was an amazing Keeper, yes, but Sirius and James made a superb Chaser team.

As for Snape, every time he saw the Snitch, Lily would be on his tail, block him, and the Snitch would disappear again. He'd soon lost his patience and tried to hex her, but James was on him in a second.

Snape (his broomstick stuck up his arse) was taken to the hospital wing as fast as Madam Promfrey and Professor Slughorn could manage, and Slytherin was awarded 20 penalties.

It was a game of Quidditch like Remus had never seen before. Edgar blocked most of the shots, but Slytherin was tied with Gryffindor.

Seeing as how Snape was gone, it was easy pickings for Lily, and she caught the Snitch so fast, no one realized what had happened until James yelled, "SHE CAUGHT THE SNITCH, BLOODY FOOLS!"

As everyone stood up and cheered, laughing and jumping up and down, Remus and Peter made their way down to the field.

For as everyone knew well, when Sirius and Regulus were within 15 feet of each other, it could only mean trouble.

Sure enough, by the time Remus ran over to the teams, Sirius, James, Regulus, and Bertram Aubrey's wands were out.

"That's enough!" Remus said, grabbing Sirius arm.

"Nuh-uh, pretty boy! I've got the badge now, and I say we kill the lot!" yelled James.

Remus looked to Lily for help. To his dismay she was nowhere in sight.

Remus sighed, "You leave me no choice."

He walked in between Sirius and James, and Regulus and Bertram.

Sirius growled, "Remus! Bloody move!"

"No, Sirius. James. Enough!"

Regulus laughed, "You know I have no problem with hexing the were-"

Sirius shoved Remus aside and pounded Regulus onto the grass. Sirius' wand was at Regulus' throat and he was yelling, "SAY IT! SAY THE WORD AND I SWEAR BY YOUR FOUL MOTHER'S NAME-!"

"Mr. Black! And Mr. Black! That's enough, now!"

Professor McGonagall came walking up to them, with Hagrid at her heels, "Hagrid, restrain them, if you please?"

Hagrid took hold of Sirius and pulled him from Regulus, who coughed and massaged his neck.

Remus sighed exasperatedly when McGonagall looked at him reprovingly. He just turned and ran to Gryffindor Tower, ran to the dormitories where his bed was awaiting.

A few hours later, when Remus had taken his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, and was getting ready for bed, James, Peter, and Sirius came in. They were all muddy, bleeding, and looked extremely annoyed.

Remus tried to ignore them, but it was almost impossible, seeing as how they all threw off their robes to the floor and changed into bedclothes, and sat on his bed.

"That HAG! THAT TOTAL HAG! A month of detention with HER! So there's no chance of getting off, like with Slughorn!" James said mournfully.

"And," added Sirius, shooting Remus a bitter glance. "-you weren't there to get us off the hook either!"

Remus sighed, "Well, I can't always save your behinds! Now, if you excuse me, we have a Transfiguration exam tomorrow."

Sirius draped an arm around Remus and pulled him onto the bed, next to him, "I'm sorry ... it's just that ... I HATE REGULUS! I just ... I wish he were dead!"

Remus gasped, "Oh, you mustn't! Please, don't say that!"

Sirius snuggled onto Remus' neck, "Shush ... just shush ..."

And Remus gave in, as he knew he always should. Gave in to Sirius and his strange ways of making anger disappear, and gave in to having three other boys sleep in his bed.

* * *

It was a full moon again, and had anyone been looking out the windows of Gryffindor Tower, they would have seen four animals making their way out of the Whomping Willow.

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

The dog barked loudly and chased its own tail to keep the werewolf from running off towards Hogwarts. Padfoot pinned the wolf down when he made to escape, and Prongs and Wormtail closed in, doing some kind of dance.

Padfoot suddenly took off into the night. Moony followed him, bounding happily along the stag and the rat, who was holding on to Prong's horns with his tiny claws.

"**_Padfoot!_**" called the wolf in a howl.

The dog stopped suddenly and turned to look at the wolf. To his surprise, Moony pinned him this time, licking at his jaw.

The dog let out a bark, which would have sounded like a laugh to human ears, and licked Moony back.

"**_Padfoot will stay with Moony._**"

"**_Yes. Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail will stay with Moony forever!_**"

The wolf growled, "**_But Padfoot will be with Moony. Padfoot is Moony's mate. Moony mates for life._**"

The dog just looked at Moony, a bit taken aback, but nodded, "**_Padfoot will stay with Moony ... for life._**"

The wolf threw its head back and howled happily. The two, Padfoot and Moony, joined Prongs and Wormtail in a race, in which the winners didn't matter.

* * *

Sirius and Remus were reading in the shade of the beech near the lake. It was a peaceful and mercifully quiet afternoon. Exams were drawing closer and both the fifth and seventh year students spend most of their time studying

Sirius sighed, "It sure is quiet."

Remus nodded, "Mmm hmm."

Sirius looked up at the tree, "It sure is boring."

Remus sighed, "To you, in any case, anything to do with books is boring."

"Oh look," Sirius sat up. "It's Prongsie."

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, with a love like that, you know you should be glad!" James walked up to them snapping his fingers and singing. Peter was at his heels, red-faced.

"What's up, James?"

James beamed at the other two, "Love ... is the greatest thing in the world. For without it ... all other emotions cannot exist ... hate, anger, sadness, happiness ... all created from LOVE!"

Sirius, Remus, and Peter just stared at him.

Finally Sirius spoke, "Okay ... so, I take it Lily looked your way at the library?"

James chuckled, "Oh Padfoot. You're so young ... so naive ... so ... " James glanced at Remus, "Well, you'll never get married for one thing!"

Sirius threw Remus' book at James' head and missed.

"Hey!" said Remus reproachfully, standing up to get his book back.

James smiled again, "Isn't it a magnificent morning!"

"It's ... five thirty ..."

"Oh Padfoot, always such a nitpicker! Magnificent evening then!"

Sirius put his face in his hands and turned to Peter, "Honestly, what happened to him ...? Don't tell me he drank something Snape gave him!"

"Don't SAY that git's name right now! You're ruining my 'moment'."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Are you going to TELL us, or do I have to shove your glasses down your throat!"

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, Prongs, with a girl like that, you know you should ... BE GLAAAAAD!" James sang, spreading his arms out.

Remus sat down next to Sirius and looked over at him, "So, Lily finally said yes to your obsessive whining?"

"YES! DING! DING! DING! MOONY WINS THE CHOCOLATE BAR!"

Remus' eyes lit up, "Really?"

James sighed, "No you prat! But, in any case! I HAVE A DATE! I ... yes, don't be jealous, envy, envy, have a date!"

Sirius rolled over, head on Remus' lap, "So ANYWAY, define the McGregorian theory of human thingy ..."

James was in his own little world again, singing the dreaded Beatle's song.

* * *

"No career plans?" asked McGonagall, peering at Remus over the top of his file.

"None whatsoever," replied Remus.

She sighed, putting Remus' papers down and thinking, "You must understand, Mr. Lupin, that just because-"

"Sirius and James have nothing to do with it," said Remus calmly.

McGonagall regarded him for a moment, "That, and your physical condition, should not prevent you-"

"With all due respect, Professor, no one at the Ministry would hire a werewolf, so being an Auror is no go. The Gringott's Goblins always look at me funny, St. Mungo's is out of the question. I doubt they'd want a healer who NEEDS a healer once a month."

McGonagall sighed, "And so ...?"

"And so, I don't have any career plans."

McGonagall nodded, "Okay, but Mr. Lupin, as long as you aren't asked about your condition, they need not know."

Remus looked up, "I understand that, but ... I can't fixate on just one career if I will not have stability."

McGonagall nodded, "This is entirely up to you, Mr. Lupin."

"Yes, professor. This is my choice."

"You're free to go, then. Don't let Mr. Black distract you and ... good luck on your N.E.W.T.s."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Mr. Black is next."

Sirius Black walked in and sat on the chair, tilting it back on two legs, "What's up, Proff.?"

"I trust you career plans have changed since fifth year?"

"Nope. If Moony doesn't have one, neither will I. I'll just do what he does. Take on random jobs ... quit when I get bored ... plus, my Uncle Alphard ... poor guy, my nasty brother got named after him, that's probably WHY he died! Anyway, he left me a decent bit of gold, I'm now of age, badda bing badda boom! I've got it made!"

McGonagall stared at him, "You'd have no trouble working for the Ministry-"

"Nah. They hate Moony."

"St. Mungo's?"

"Nope. I have to take care of Moony for five days a month."

"Gringott's?"

"Hate goblins, hate Arithmancy! No!"

McGonagall gritted her teeth, "So you, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. potter are willing to just ... live unemployed for the rest of your lives!"

Sirius blinked, "Uh huh, yeah, basically. So can I go now? I found this little closet that's nice and roomy for me and Remus to get hot-"

"Good-bye, Mr. Black!" she interrupted.

Peter walked in next.

"And you? Do you want to be unemployed forever as well?"

"No, professor," Peter began in a small voice. "I'd like to work in the Ministry of Magic; Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."

* * *

The N.E.W.T.s, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, were just that. Nastily exhausting. In fact, by the end of the first few tests, so many students had lost their heads completely and transfigured the examiners into animals, or poisoned themselves, that Dumbledore decided to give them a day off.

Many people (James and Sirius) took this opportunity to wreck havoc on the unwary (bewitching books to seal themselves and ink-bottles to repel paper and quirt at the person instead) but others (Remus and Peter) studied the whole day away.

Remus took McGongall's words to heart, and no matter how many times Sirius kissed his neck, or reached into his pants, Remus did not stop studying for their Potions Exam.

"C'mon Remus ... it's the last one!"

"And you know I'm an expert at potions-making!" snapped Remus, slapping Sirius' hand away as it inched down his back.

"Well, you're grades have been picking up."

"Sirius, you know that's just because I haven't missed a Slug Club meeting yet and I've given him the names of all the people my father's worked with. I mean, he gave me an 'O' on a green potion that was supposed to be red!"

"Well, maybe this idiot will be interested in your dad's contacts too," said Sirius nibbling on Remus' ear absentmindedly.

Remus sighed, "Stop, please. Just let me study ... tomorrow at this time, we'll be free. But not ... right now ... please?"

Sirius's eyes met Remus' and he nodded, "Fine, study this perfect day away ... go blind!"

Remus bit his lip, but began reading the next paragraph on antidotes for love-potions.

* * *

"Now, we're DONE!" yelled Sirius, throwing his quill up in the air, earning a glare from the examiners.

"Yes, Mr. Black. You are all free to go."

"Yes!" All the seventh years in the room cheered and made their way out of the examination hall as fast as they could.

"THAT was too easy!" said James, ruffling his hair and stretching.

Peter chewed his lip nervously, "E-easy for you ... I think I may have failed it!"

Sirius laughed, "I KNOW you failed it!"

Peter moaned and hid his face in his hands. Remus came up behind them.

"Sirius, don't be so mean."

"Well, it's true. Peter's a git. He knows that. Right Wormtail?"

Peter grinned through his fingers as they all sat down in the shade of the beech tree near the lake. Remus leaned against the trunk, looking out at the dancing lights on the surface of the lake.

"I'm going to miss it ... you know ..."

Sirius looked at him, "What, the lake?"

"Everything. Hogwarts ... the teachers ... the classes ... the library ..."

Remus looked at the castle mournfully.

Sirius put his head on Remus' lap, "Even Binns?"

Remus grinned and looked down, "Yes, actually."

Suddenly James stood up. Lily Evans was walking towards them, long hair billowing in the wind.

James turned to his friends and grinned nervously, "How's my hair!"

Sirius pointed his wand at James' head, "Here, let me help-"

"No! Padfoot, c'mon! Do I look okay!"

"Yeah ... why do you care!"

"Hello! My date! This is my big chance! I can't mess up!"

Remus frowned at him, "Need a few pointers?"

James nodded enthusiastically, "Please!"

"Take it slow, James," said Remus giving him a meaningful look.

"Ooh! Give her chocolates!" added Sirius.

James frantically searched his pockets, and looked up in horror, "I DON'T HAVE ANY!"

Luckily, Remus pulled out a bar, tapped his wand on it, and handed it to James.

James wiped his sweaty brow, "Thanks a million. Peter ... any pointers!"

Sirius stared at him and James shrugged, "WHAT! I'm desperate!"

Peter looked as if he was in deep thought, "Erm ... make sure you have nice breath?"

"You're right!"

James pointed his wand at his mouth and squirted a large amount of blue liquid into his mouth just as Lily came up behind them.

"Hello," she waved to the other three.

James turned around, "Ms Evans, what a pleasure-"

Lily closed her eyes as a burst of cold air came whooshing out of James' mouth.

Sirius sniggered and stuffed his fist into his mouth.

"Erm," she began but faltered.

James held out the chocolate bar and muttered, "_Roseum_!"

A few wilted roses appeared in his arms. He thrust them at Lily.

Lily laughed, "Well, I think everything is quite nice."

Lily opened the chocolate bar to find her name engraved on it. She beamed.

"Well, Lily ... let's get going!" muttered James nervously.

Lily nodded and waved at the other three. James and Lily walked away, slowly and towards the Quidditch pitch.

Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, "Really ... sleepy ..."

Remus ran his fingers through Sirius' hair, "I know ..."

* * *

When James returned to the common room a few happy hours later, he found Sirius, Remus, and Peter asleep in front of the fire.

He paused to gouge his eyes out at the sight of Sirius holding Remus to his chest on 'their' couch. Then he walked over to them, carefully stepping over Peter.

He stood on the table, cast _Muffliato_ on the doors to the dormitories, and bellowed, "GUESS WHO'S THE LUCKIEST GUY IN WORLD!"

Just as he'd planned, they all jerked out of their sleep suddenly and almost fell out of the couch.

Sirius rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Wha-! Wha-!"

"ME!" yelled James. "I had a great time, yeah, thanks for asking!"

Sirius yawned, "Bloody hell ... it's past eleven ..."

"How far did you go?" asked Peter, little eyes darting over James' face.

James purposely sat between Sirius and Remus, "Not that much. She let me hold her hand, though!"

James grinned at them, proudly.

"That's it?"

James frowned at Sirius, "Well, yes! Lily is a very important girl to me! I can't just go forcing her to snog me on our first date!"

Sirius yawned again, "Yeah, well that seems boring to me."

James threw a cushion at him, "What do YOU know about girls!"

Sirius laughed, "Point taken, now ..." +Sirius stood up, "Can we go to BED?"

James sighed happily, "Yes I think so ... isn't Lily the most wonderful girl in the world?"

Sirius stretched and stood up, "I wouldn't know, I've never kissed her."

James sent another cushion at Sirius.

* * *

No matter how much the Marauders wished that time would slow down, it did not. And inevitably, the last few days rolled around.

The Slug Club had made a sort of 'Memory Book' in which all the student's pictures would go. To their dismay, the Marauders were categorized as members of the Slug Club.

But there had been a bright side to the madness. There were special pages, dedicated to crazy things like, Best Friends Forever: Sirius and Remus; Cutest Couple: Lily and James; Best Quidditch Players: Sirius, James, Lily, Snape, and Regulus; Rumored Couple: Sirius and Remus; Most Likely to Succeed: Remus and Severus; Strangest Talents- Fastest Eater: Peter Pettigrew; and other strange things. Needless to say, all the seventh years bought a copy, and the first thing Sirius did to his was scribble 'Loser' on Regulus and Snape' photographs.

Now that time was running out, the Marauders and Lily stayed together as much as they could. They moved in a group, Lily and James in front, usually talking with Peter, and Sirius and Remus in the back. And, sometimes, when they were feeling silly enough, they all hooked arms and sang 'We're the Marauders' while walking through the halls.

People had to duck under their arms, or wait until they passed because none of them would let go. Yes, Lily was now 'one-of-them' because there was more than met the eye behind those green eyes. She was an incredible witch and could charm anything from a chair to the Giant Squid.

All too soon, came the last day at Hogwarts.

After the feast, when Dumbledore stood to speak, the Marauders knew it was them to whom he was talking to.

"Another year gone, another group of students to go. I know that you will all be remembered as great young men and women who made us laugh, cry, and bored us to tears. Other than telling you there are still a few hours left before you all depart forevermore from Hogwarts, there is only one bit of advice I can give you at this point."

The Marauders grinned and recited it with him, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!"

Laughing, they threw their black, pointed hats in the air and all the students in the room followed suit.

After all was packed and put away, James and Lily disappeared. Sirius sat on Remus' bed and looked at him nervously, "So ..."

"So ...?" asked Remus.

Sirius chewed his lip, "Come, come with me to the Willow. Yeah?"

Remus, worried, stood up and followed him.

Once inside the Shrieking Shack, Sirius sat on the bed and looked at Remus, "There has ... we've been together ... a long time ... Are we really just friends who kiss and touch occasionally? Is that all?"

Remus sat next to Sirius, "I'm afraid I don't understand-"

Sirius silenced him with a kiss. It was a rushed kiss, passionate, but nervous.

Sirius pushed Remus down on the bed, tugging at his clothes. Remus looked up at him, fearfully.

"Sirius?"

"Remus ... I love you ... I want you ..."

"Sirius, I love you too, but-"

"But what? What's wrong?"

Remus undid his tie slowly, "I suppose ... I'm a bit afraid ..."

"Of what ...?" Sirius asked, kissing Remus' neck slowly and unbuttoning his shirt.

"Of ... " Remus always found it hard to speak when Sirius was touching his like this, slowly ... pulling his shirt and robes off.

"Of ... everything ... stop ... everything ... ruined ..."

Sirius discarded his own tie, robes, shirt, shoes and socks, with astounding speed, "Nothing will be ruined ... "

Remus frowned, "Are you doing this because you know we'll never see each other again?"

Sirius sat up and looked down at him, "No ... I was doing it ... because ... because ... I don't know ... Remus, please say you will?"

Remus propped himself up on his elbows, "You know what this means ...?"

Sirius frowned, "That I'll be your lover?"

Remus nodded, a wicked glint in his eye, "For life ..."

Sirius laughed and pinned Remus down, rubbing his hands over Remus' stomach and dipping down and nibbling on Remus' ear.

"I know ... for life Moony ... for life ..."

Pants were discarded, spells cast for slightly more comfort, and had anyone been near the Shrieking Shack, not only would they have heard loud groans and moans and screams ... but they would've heard a very creaky bed.

In the darkest hour of the night, the two lay in the creaky bed, a thin sheet wrapped around their naked bodies pressed against one another.

Sirius smiled down at Remus, "The moon and the dog star really shone tonight, didn't they?"

Remus laughed a bit, "We're really never going to see each other again ... "

Sirius suddenly sat up, "Well, that's the second reason I brought you up here. James and I were thinking ... and he'll get Lily to agree later ... that he'll get a nice house near Godric's Hollow, and we could get a flat near them too."

"We ...?"

"You and me ... live together, Moony."

Remus sat up as well, thought, with much difficulty, "What?"

"Yeah well .. maybe not a flat, since you're a werewolf and we'll need some sort of basements to meet up in, but a small house would do, right?"

Remus gaped at him, "You want me to live with you!"

Sirius looked at his hands, "Okay ... no then."

He was knocked flat on his back when Remus hugged him tightly.

"Remus, what the- ACK! Choking me ..."

"Sirius, oh ... I'm sorry ... it's just ... I'm so happy! Yes! Yes, I'll live with you!"

Remus pulled away and wiped at his eyes with his arm.

Sirius looked at him, half-amused, half-worried, "You're crying!"

Remus looked up and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry ... being stupid ... sorry ..."

Sirius laughed and gave him a quick kiss, "You're not stupid, Moony! Now, let's get dressed, we wouldn't want to be missed."

* * *

After many games of chess, loud singing, and hexing random Slytherins as they passed their compartment, the Marauders felt anxious about leaving the train.

It was their last connection to Hogwarts. they had gazed mournfully at the castle, Lily had shed a few tears and peter had mused about how he'd miss all the good food. Sirius would miss the Shack, and Remus would miss the library.

James had said nothing, but his friends knew he'd miss playing Quidditch. He'd left a Seeker shield and a Chaser trophy for the next generations to see what a superb player he'd been.

And when the train arrived at the station, Lily passed her phone number to James and left without a word, Peter had left quickly too, yelling he'd owl them.

Only James, Sirius, and Remus remained.

"We'll owl you when Padfoot finds a place," James assured Remus.

"Yeah, I'll kill someone to get them out of a house near James' if I have to!"

Remus laughed, "Alright ... I'll be waiting ..."

With a nod from James, and a quick kiss from Sirius, they parted.

_I've paid my dues  
Time after time  
I've done my sentence  
But committed no crime  
And bad mistakes  
I've made a few  
I've had my share of sand  
Kicked in my face  
But I've come through  
And I need to go on and on and on and on _

We're the Marauders - my friends  
And we'll keep on fighting till the end  
We're the Marauders  
We're the Marauders  
No time for losers  
'Cause we're the Marauders of the world

I've taken my bows  
And my curtain calls  
You've brought me fame and fortune  
And everything that goes with it  
I thank you all  
But it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise  
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race  
And I ain't gonna lose  
And I need to go on and on and on and on

We're the Marauders - my friend  
And we'll keep on fighting till the end  
We're the Marauders  
We're the Marauders  
No time for losers  
'Cause we're the Marauders of the world!

* * *

A/N: More loving! More loving! How was THAT for more loving! MEHEHEH!

Yay! Hogwarts is over and done! Now we can move on to ... Beyond Hogwarts!

Is this fic getting annoyingly long and boring? Should I end it here ... ? "gasps and dies"

Please Review!


	16. Scroll 16: Slow Hand

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 16: Slow Hand

"Here we are!" said Sirius, throwing his arms up in the air and jumping off his recently acquired bike.

Remus looked up at the lonely white house with it's peeling paint and cracked shingles, "Wow, it's nice!"

Sirius regarded him for a moment, "You think it's crap."

"No, no! Really, it's better than I expected! And anyway ... being what I am a new house wouldn't last anyway ..."

Sirius nodded, "Very, very true!"

He picked Remus up, bridal style and walked to the front door of the house, "Um ... Moony?"

Remus looked at him, "Please say you're not going to drop me?"

"No, um, can your reach into my pocket for the keys ... I'm a bit tied up at the moment ..."

Remus laughed and reached over to dig Sirius' keys out. He shifted a bit in Sirius' arms and unlocked the door.

Sirius grinned, "And now, my sweet, we enter out new, crappy yet comfy, nest of forbidden love!"

Remus laughed as Sirius made a big deal out of walking through the doorway of the front door.

"We are now taking the first step towards the doorway, we have taken the second step, third ... we have just received confirmation that we are standing ON the doorway!"

"Sirius! Stop being silly!"

"And, we ... are ... in!"

Sirius smiled at Remus while carrying him into the living room, "How do you like it?"

There were two couches and a big reclinable chair in the living room, crowded around a small table with a television on it, with the fireplace to the side.

Remus looked around, "It's nice ... really nice, yes ..."

Sirius beamed and carried him to the kitchen where a few pots and pans had been arranged and held in place, no doubt, with magic. It was cramped and the refrigerator barely fit, but Remus was pleased.

"And now, dear BOYFRIEND of mine-" began Sirius with a flourish.

"Stop it, Sirius! When you say that word it makes me feel ..."

"Like a girl?" asked Sirius with a teasing wink.

"Squeamish, was the word I was looking for!" replied Remus, reproachfully.

"In any case! We pass the tiny bathroom to the bedroom! And I will now drop you on the bed because I'm tired!"

Remus landed heavily on the soft bed. He bounced a bit, testing the springs.

"It doesn't squeak," he observed.

Sirius stretched and rubbed his eyes, "that's a very good thing ... wouldn't want to wake the neighbors."

Remus laughed, "WHAT neighbors! We're on top of a hill, miles from Godric's Hollow!"

Sirius pounced on Remus, kissing his neck slowly, "All the better then ..."

The two made themselves at home within the hour.

* * *

"And do you have experience teaching children?" the uptight-looking headmistress asked him.

_'If experience is getting turned down by the last two schools I've applied for ... but maybe tutoring Sirius and James counts ... after all, they're the silliest grown-children I've ever met.'_

"I do."

She regarded him a moment and looked down at the application, "But you've never taught at a school?"

"No."

"I see ... hmm. Then I guess ... "

She looked over at a green poster near her desk, with tiny purple letters on it that Remus could not make out.

"One last thing ... if you would please sign the form," the headmistress held out a pen.

Remus took it, but dropped it immediately in surprise.

"Ah!" he looked down at his red, raw fingers.

The woman's eyes narrowed, "What's wrong?"

Remus blew on his fingers, "It burned me ..." It suddenly dawned on him, "It's silver ..."

He had a sudden vision of a toad-like woman smirking at him.

The headmistress frowned, "You did not mention you were a werewolf. You must understand we cannot risk exposing our students to ... "

"People like me," finished Remus, standing up.

She nodded and pointed to the poster, "It's a routine check. I personally would've never thought of you as- well, in any case, are you registered?"

Remus dug in his pocket for his W.I.D. When he'd found it, he thrust it at the headmistress who only nodded at him.

"Another routine check, I'm afraid. We can't let werewolves run around unregistered. That would be unthinkable!"

Remus just pocketed his card.

"Well then, have a good day. I'd shake your hand, but seeing as how-"

Remus left the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"How'd it go, Remmy?" said Sirius, flipping absentmindedly through channels with his wand as the remote, as Remus locked the front door.

He walked over, sat next to Sirius and shook his head, "They ... got me. Handed me a silver pen and ..."

Remus showed Sirius his burned fingers. Sirius jumped up and ran off to their kitchen. He returned with a bottle of purple liquid which he dabbed on Remus' fingers. The burning stopped immediately and was replaced by a cool feeling.

"Essence of Murtlap ..." muttered Sirius.

Remus nodded, "Thanks."

Sirius bit his lip, "So, no go ... But, that's okay Remus! I've got gold! We don't need a stickin' job!"

Remus finally broke into a smile, "But that gold will eventually run out!"

Sirius waved his wand around , causing various things to burst into flames or blow up, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!"

Sirius sighed and motioned for Remus to come closer. They sat there, Remus head on Sirius' shoulder, with Sirius running his fingers through the tangle of light-brown locks.

Sirius pointed his wand at the television. He flipped through channels, finding nothing, and slowly, slowly, drifting into a deep sleep.

* * *

Many, many, many nights after that, many months after that day, in fact, almost a year later, life found them well enough. Sirius' money had not yet ran out, Remus spent hours in his room reading and writing, and whatnot, stopping only when Sirius called him to dinner or ... whenever a 'Siriusy' distraction arose.

It was the summer of 1978, when Remus came to the living room, for they had no dining room, to eat an averagely cooked meal. But them, averagely-cooked was all Sirius could manage (never being good at household issues), in fact Remus handled everything else: cleaning, sweeping, mopping, dusting, laundry, and the sort.

But Remus could not cook.

At all.

In fact, every time he tried, it was a disaster.

"You're just as good as cooking as you're good at brewing potions," Sirius had once joked with him.

And it was true.

So Sirius had taken over the cooking. Today's dinner included steaks and mashed potatoes with gravy and bread loaves, lightly toasted with butter spread on one side.

Remus sat down next to Sirius on the couch, as was their custom, and watched a strange soap opera called, 'The Age of the Aquarius.'

"The stake's a bit ... rare, isn't it?" said Sirius, staring at the blood oozing out of his with interest.

Remus merely glanced at it and cut off a large piece, "All the same to me, Padfoot."

Sirius shrugged and cut a piece as well.

It would have been a simple, boring evening, had they not have been interrupted at that very moment.

For at that moment, just as Remus was cutting a second piece, their fireplace glowed a light green, and the next thing they knew someone was spinning very rapidly, and landed covered in soot and coughing up ash on the floor in front of them.

"Ack! Hate ... ugh ... ashes!"

Sirius grinned and stood up to help him, "James, old boy! How very nice to see you again! What's shaking?"

James grinned too and nodded at Remus, "Peace, love, and the Beatles to you both."

Remus and Sirius exchanged a quick glance while James was cleaning his glasses, that plainly said: He's crazy or something's terribly wrong.

"Something's terribly wrong!" yelled James once he'd put his glasses back on.

"What is it?" asked the other two in unison.

"It's Lily ... I mean ... it's really understandable ... we HAVE been going out for a year now ... I mean, right?"

Sirius stared at him, "Uh ... huh ..."

"She wants to go to the next level, Sirius! Help me!"

Sirius exchanged another brief glance with Remus before responding, "So, what? You want me to give you tips on sleeping with girls ...? Hey, Prongs ... you're TOTALLY barking up the wrong tree! Me and Remus-"

"No!" James sat on the couch between them, "It's not THAT ... she ... wants me ... to marry her!"

Sirius and Remus gasped in unison, then burst out laughing.

"That's not funny, Sirius, Remus! I'm panicking here!" James yelled.

"What's so bad about getting married?" asked Remus gently.

"Well ... it's ... weird ... it's ..."

"Commitment?" Sirius offered.

"Yes! Then she'll want to have kids, and, and, start a family ... and ..."

"You can kiss your freedom good-bye," finished Sirius harshly.

"Exactly! What-am-I-gonna-do! What-am-I-gonna-do! What-am-I-gonna-do!"

"You're going to go home, and clean yourself up," began Remus.

James nodded rapidly.

"Then, you're going to go to Lily's house and ask her to marry you."

James shook his head just as rapidly.

But Sirius grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye, "Think about it. It's the only way to gat a cool girl like Lily to stay with you for he rest of your life!"

"Yes but, what should I say!"

"Just ask her to marry you!"

"Easy for you to say, seeing as how you two never will!" said James viciously while hiding his face in his hands.

He'd meant it as an insult, but Sirius and Remus just laughed.

"We're as good as ... m-married ... I think," began Sirius. "In any case, James ... let me ask you just three things."

James looked at him and Sirius continued, "Are you ... a true Marauder!"

The familiar glint was back in James' eyes, "Yes!"

"Are you a true Gryffindor!"

"YES!"

"Are you going to go and ask Lily to marry you!"

"HELL YEAH! DIVIDE AND CONQUER!"

Neither Sirius nor Remus had the faintest idea of what the last comment had to do with anything but ... it certainly meant James was okay.

He marched up to the fireplace and threw floo powder in.

"I shall go now ... and ask Lily Evans to marry me!"

* * *

Sirius and Remus did not find out how the marriage proposal went until the next day, when they received an owl with the wedding invitation.

Sirius rubbed his eyes and poured milk onto his cereal, "Think he went through with it?"

Remus stifled a yawn, "I do hope so. It's really about time they moved things along-"

At that moment, a large gray owl came soaring through the window. It perched on Sirius' chair and held out its leg, where a white envelope with lace around it was attached to its leg.

Sirius snatched it from the owl and threw it down, "Oh no ... it's an invitation all right ... but I have the feeling Lily charmed it-"

Sirius was cut off by the loud wedding march coming from the envelope. The next second, the envelope had turned itself into a tiny paper wedding chapel.

But louder than the music even, was the voice that announced, "JAMES ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM! ISN'T THAT SPLENDID!"

Sirius covered his ears enough to drown out the shrieks but still hear when and where the wedding would take place.

"And by the way," came James' voice. "Sirius you got me into this, so ... you're the best man."

The envelope then burst into tiny white doves that dissolved into thin air, leaving Sirius dumbfounded.

"I'm the best man ... wow ..."

Remus grinned, "You're James' best friend! It's obvious he'd want to drag you into it as well."

"Brilliant! I'm the best man!" Sirius's grin suddenly faded, "What am I gonna WEAR!"

* * *

"Do I look okay Remus?" Sirius fiddled nervously with his nicestblack robes and tie.

Remus smiled, "You look fine."

Remus was dressed raggedly, in the least patched gray robes he could find. There were some loose threads here and there, an uneven hem, and he looked tired, for it had been just a few days after the full moon. Nonetheless he was really, truly happy. Lily and James were going to be married.

And the ceremony began, and when came the time to give their vows, Sirius was, for once, ready and flawless.

Finally they kissed, and the many people around Remus clapped and cheered.

"It's about time, isn't it?" asked Peter, smiling at the two newly-weds.

"It certainly is," agreed Remus.

They all stood up as Lily and James walked past. Once outside the chapel, James grinned at them all, "It's not over yet! Paaaaaaarty time!"

"Wait a moment, James," said Remus, holding up a camera. "Won't you want to remember this?"

James laughed and nodded, "Great, I want Sirius in this too!"

Sirius settled himself between James and Lily. Remus quickly set the camera up, "Smile!"

James and Lily smiled at the camera, Sirius laughed. With a click, the picture was taken.

"What's so funny, Padfoot?"

Sirius nodded towards Peter who was trying to sneak some food from the buffet table.

"Git never changes ..."

It was a happy evening for all of them. Everyone was happy and dancing to the Beatles and random love songs.

Even Remus lightened up a bit after Sirius had spiked his Butterbeer with Firewhiskey.

"Mr. Moony, wouldyou like to dance?" was Sirius slightly slurred greeting to Remus, when he'd come back from teasing Peter for stuffing cheese into his pants.

Remus, a bit intoxicated as he was, could tell that Sirius was much, much more drunk than him.

"No, Sirius. I doubt you'd want everyone here knowing you were sleeping with me. Anyway, that girl in the corner is checking you out."

Sirius turned and winked at her. Then he turned back to Remus, "She's ugly. Besides, who cares! I'm bored, I want to dance!"

"Sirius, you're drunk-"

"Oh, oh, LISTEN! That's SUCH a good song!"

Remus sighed and listened. Indeed, it was a very good song by the Muggle group, Pointer Sisters. "It's one of my favorites too," he commented.

"Great! Let's dance!"

"Are you mad! No ... no, I will not dance with you!"

Sirius pouted and grabbed Remus' arm, "I won't take 'no' for an answer! I'll drag you!"

"Sirius, honestly-"

"I'll drag you!"

Sirius did indeed drag Remus to where various couples were dancing.

**_As the midnight moon, was drifting through  
The lazy sway of the trees_**

"Now, then," whispered Sirius, slipping his arms around Remus' waist.

Remus struggled a bit, then gave in and put his head on Sirius' shoulder, "Just so you know ... I'm a horrible dancer."

"Thass okay," was Sirius whispered reply.

_**I saw the look in your eyes, lookin' into mine  
Seeing what you wanted to see**_

It was a few moment before people started to stare at them. Sirius just glared right back, and announced, "Yes, I'm dancing with Remus! Yes, I'm a POOF! Deal with it!"

Lily and James were amused, but others rolled their eyes, or looked away embarrassed.

_**Darlin' don't say a word, cause I already heard  
What your body's sayin' to mine**_

Sirius just ignored them all, to Remus' dismay.

Remus did not know how they got home. One moment he was red-faced, dancing awkwardly with Sirius, the next Sirius was whirling him away, shouting good-bye to Remus, and now they were home.

But Sirius did not head to their bed, or to their room, or even inside the house. He pulled Remus down to the grass and claimed his lips hungrily.

_**I'm tired of fast moves  
I've got a slow groove...  
On my mind**_

"Sirius ... what-?"

"Don't you see Remmy?" asked Sirius, leaning close enough that Remus smelled the Firewhiskey on his breath. "It's our honeymoon ..."

_**On shadowed ground, with no one around  
And a blanket of stars in our eyes  
We are drifting free, like two lost leaves  
On the crazy wind of the night**_

"Sirius, you're ... too drunk to ..." Remus didn't manage to complete his sentence. He was distracted by Sirius trailing kisses down his neck.

Finally he choked out, "Sirius ... "

Sirius nibbled on Remus' ear and whispered, "I love you, Moony ..."

"I ... love you ... too ..."

They had become quite experienced, Sirius specially, in the art of discarding the robes, shoes, socks, ties, shirts, and trousers. Sirius could even do so without breaking their hot kiss.

Sirius breathed in the lingering scent of Moony's wolf-self on Remus' hair. Remus felt the familiar touch of Sirius' fingers on his skin as they melted into one.

_**Darlin', don't say a word, 'cause I already heard  
What your body's sayin' to mine  
If I want it all night  
You say it's alright  
We got the time**_

"Slow ..." whispered Remus and Sirius complied.

Outside, under the moon and the stars, lying in the cool grass with nothing to warm each other with but themselves, only whispers and soft panting was heard drifting through the cold night air.

_**I want a man with a slow hand  
I want a lover with an easy touch  
I want somebody who will spend some time  
Not come and go in a heated rush  
I want somebody who will understand  
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand**_

* * *

Little did the Marauders know that a black cloud hovered over their lives ... and was getting closer ...

"I am indeed intrigued by this, Severus. Nonetheless I trust your judgment is not clouded by ... other things. I would like to see this Regulus Black."

"Yes, my Lord," Severus bowed low and adjusted his black hood and white mask. He walked quickly to the door and pulled it open.

Regulus swept into the room and bowed before Lord Voldemort, "Your Lordship, I must-"

"I know why you are here, Regulus. And when will your brother be joining us?"

"So not speak of that blood-traitor, sire! He is just an abomination born to the Black family!" shrieked Bellatrix in the corner.

Lord Voldemort only laughed softly, "Hold out your left arm Regulus."

Regulus frowned, but did so.

Cold fingers closed upon his wrist and wrenched it to the side. He put one long, white finger on Regulus' forearm.

Regulus cried out in pain. He was being burnt! He looked up at Lord Voldemort in fear, but the cruel red eyes just stared him down.

Finally the icy hand let him go, "Welcome, Regulus, to my Death Eaters ..."

Regulus looked down at his forearm where the Dark Mark burned black. He turned to Snape, eyes wide with fear, but Snape just looked away.

Regulus bowed slowly and backed away, taking his place next to Severus in the large circle that the Death Eaters had formed.

_'This was not ... too bad, I suppose. It's ... just ... a mark ... everything will be okay! You're upholding the Black name ...'_

Yet a nagging voice in the form of Sirius told him, "You've no idea what you're getting into ..."

Regulus denied it ...yet secretly knew it was true.

* * *

A/N: Well, this fic is going down, innit? I wonder how this chappie will take. But it was worth it, right?

Strange chapter really ... oh well. If you find anything weird or confusing, let me know!

Please review!


	17. Scroll 17: Regretful Runaway

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 17: Regretful Runaway

"Joined the what?" Sirius frowned and sat up, running a hand through his hair.

"The Order of the Phoenix. It's an organization led by Dumbledore to fight against the Dark Arts," explained Lily patiently.

"And, what, Dumbledore wants us in too? Sweet! I'm in!" said Sirius.

Remus frowned, "I really should I suppose."

"Good then, it's settled, Dumbledore really wants to talk to us, so we decided to meet him at our place," James stood up and stretched.

Sirius and Remus stood up as well, "Let's go."

When they arrived and Lily and James' house, they found Dumbledore was already there, calmly sitting on a squashy purple chair in front of the fireplace.

"Good evening, all."

"Good evenin' Proff." said Sirius grinning as he sat down in the recliner opposite of Dumbledore.

"Evening," mumbled Remus and he made as if to sit on the sofa with James and Lily, but Sirius pulled Remus onto his lap.

And to further embarrass him, Sirius put his arms around his waist, and spoke to Dumbledore as if it were the most normal thing in the world, " Prongs said you wanted to see us about some Phoenix thing?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "First, good evening to all. I am most pleased to see you are still bonded in friendship ... and ... well-"

Dumbledore's eyes strayed over to Remus and Sirius, then Lily and James. He frowned, but continued, "Yes, in fact. I trust you have agreed to join the Order of the Phoenix?"

Sirius and Remus nodded in unison.

"Good. But, first I must address Lily. I want you to keep tabs on who goes into the Misuse of Magic sector and why. We have had reports of Death Eaters infiltrating the Ministry this way. Obviously, it's the perfect opportunity to perform the Imperious Curse, or such."

Lily nodded. Dumbledore continued, "I trust James will help you. Now then."

Dumbledore's sky-blue eyes turned back to Sirius and Remus, "As for you two ... Remus, I want you to go to this address."

He flicked his wand and a small piece of parchment appeared in front of Remus. Remus took it and frowned, "I ... fear I don't understand."

"You will. And you must act quickly, he is in danger."

"He?" Remus frowned even more.

"Yes, he. And if we do not manage to keep him away from the Death Eaters, I think both you and your family are in danger."

Remus' eyes widened, "W-what!"

"I suggest you go with him, Sirius. You may give him the message from me. And now, to my deepest remorse, I must take my leave. I do hope that next time Mr. Pettigrew will be here as well. Good-bye, and good-bye."

There was a 'pop' and Dumbledore was gone, leaving Remus and Sirius looking at each other dumbfounded.

* * *

"It's Snivelly, isn't it!" said Sirius, putting an arm around Remus protectively as they walked down the dingy street.

"No, I don't think so. He doesn't live around here," Remus studied the scrap of parchment intently.

"Oh, so you know where he lives! How did THAT one happen!" said Sirius angrily, tightening his grip on Remus' waist.

"Obviously he told me, Sirius." Remus looked up at a black stone building, "This is it."

Sirius still pressed on as they walked through the front gate and up the stairs., "And does Snivellus know where YOU live!"

"No, I don't think so." Remus looked down at the scrap of parchment, "Flat number 636. I think we're on the ... second floor." Remus looked up, "Long way to go."

Sirius growled behind him, "Well, WHY do you know where he lives! Were you planning to VISIT him!"

Remus sighed, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"Darn right you can't! I wouldn't LET you!"

"He's gone."

Sirius stopped, "What?"

Remus turned to him, "I sent him an owl and it returned without a response. He's gone."

"Gone ... where!" Sirius narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I think I know but ... I'm still hoping it's not true."

"He's a Death Eater, isn't he?" Sirius grabbed Remus' arm, "You knew didn't you!"

Remus pulled away, "One more floor."

"Can you ANSWER me! What else happened between you two! You talked to him about becoming a Death Eater! Does Dumbledore KNOW! That was dangerous, why didn't you ever tell me! Remus, at least LOOK at me!"

Remus turned around, annoyed, "Yes, I knew! Yes he talked to me about things he wouldn't even tell Regulus! Dumbledore knows and he has asked me to not tell anyone else! He has his reasons and I doubt you'd want to question them."

Remus turned around and kept walking up the stairs quickly. Sirius followed at his heels, fuming.

"We're here," Remus announced a few moments later. He knocked quickly and waited.

It was a full ten seconds before Remus knocked again.

No reply.

Sirius growled and grabbed the doorknob, turning it hard. To his surprise, the door opened.

Remus exchanged a quick glance with Sirius before walking in.

It was the darkest, dustiest, dirtiest place Remus had ever set foot in. He looked around and raised his wand, "_Lumos_."

Behind him, Sirius did the same and walked past him, floorboards creaking. Sirius' wand light revealed a few dead animals tacked onto the walls.

"There's nobody here ..." he whispered.

Remus tensed suddenly, "There is ... look."

He raised his wand higher, so the light was cast all the way to a lonely corner at the far side of the room. A man crouched there, blood-shot blue eyes glittering madly.

"Who goes there!" he asked in a raspy voice.

Remus frowned and took a step forward, "Pardon us for intruding, but we have a message to you from Dumbledore ..."

The man looked up suddenly, and stood up just as quickly, "What's HE want! What's HE know ...!"

Sirius put a hand on Remus' shoulder and whispered, "If he tries anything, I'll kick his arse."

Remus ignored that, "You're in danger. He knows that much. And, please, if you've had any contact with any Death Eaters-"

"Death Eaters! Wizards!" the man growled viciously. "No ... pathetic wizards who prize themselves above us! A whole Department just for us; they think they're so clever!"

The man slumped back down and felt on the floor, as if looking for something. His long matted brown hair hung over his face.

"But," Remus began, and the man looked up again, eyes widening dangerously. "- Dumbledore said you have. Please, you don't understand ... people are in danger."

"People! Always in danger ... always ... Muggles are just stupid prey ... and wizards ... well, the hunt is always more vicious that way!" the man said with a cruel laugh.

Remus looked over at Sirius, frowning, "I don't understand ..."

But Sirius was looking at the floor. There was an old, yellow newspaper, the pages crinkled and damp, and the picture was scratched out, but the headline was still as black as coal.

**'Fenrir Greyback still at large after slaughtering well-known Head of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: Nathaniel Crawfort and his family.'**

Remus' mouth dropped open, he fell to his knees, and he snatched the newspaper from the floor, "So ... it was true ..."

The man had found what he was looking for. He pointed the wand at them, "Leave! Get out of here!"

He saw the newspaper in Remus' hand, "GIVE ME THAT!"

He lunged at Remus and there was a bang as Sirius sprung up in front and slammed the man against the wall.

"Don't touch MY-!"

Remus had stood up and walked up to the man, now pinned against the wall, "Nathan ... "

The man stopped struggling, "What!"

"Nathan ... it's you isn't it?"

Sirius frowned, "Nathan ... I've heard his name before ... that other boy who was supposed to be in our dormitory but left ... Theodore? He said something about Nathan being killed ..."

"HE KILLED THEM! HE KILLED MY PARENTS! He killed my MUM ... and he LAUGHED! LAUGHED IN MY FACE! AND ... it's all YOUR fault Remus! YOUR fault! You did this ..."

Remus took a step towards him, but Sirius pulled him back, "He's gone mad ..."

"Sirius, he's a werewolf! And it IS my fault ... Nathan, please, be reasonable!"

But Nathan had finally managed to throw the curse off. He lunged at them, teeth bared ... like an animal.

Sirius threw him back again, "Remus, run!"

"Sirius, we must help-"

"Run! We'll alert your parents! Don't worry, run!"  
687  
Sirius threw Remus down as a hex flew their way and used _Levicorpus_ on Nathan, but that didn't seem to do any good.

How they made it down the stairs and out of the building, Sirius did not recall. All he remembered once outside was the frantic rush they'd been in as Nathan had chased them down six flights of stairs, Sirius ducking hexes, sending jinxes this way and that, and shielding and pushing Remus along.

They ran even after getting out of the building. They ran and ran and finally fell down, onto the pavement of some dark street, panting.

Remus looked up at Sirius, "You're MAD! Why didn't you let me handle it!"

"Did you want to get ripped apart! I saved your bloody neck!"

Remus looked annoyed and put his face in his hands, "Fenrir will get him ... I just know he'll come for Nathan ... "

Sirius sat next to him and wrapped his arms around Remus, "Hey ... it's okay ...it's alright ... we tried. It couldn't be helped ... let's go home ..."

Remus nodded and stood up. Sirius began taking his coat to give to Remus (seeing as how Moony's was tattered and torn in various places) but Remus just huddled in with Sirius. It was late and it was cold, and when they got home, they didn't talk or stay up at all. They just fell into bed, clothes and all, and huddled together for warmth ...

* * *

Remus Lupin received the first major shock in his life the next day, when he neared his parent's small house and found the Dark Mark hovering over it.

It was a greater shock to find his parent's bodies as a bloody mass in the kitchen. Nathan's body too, lied near them.

Remus understood. It was Fenrir ...

John and Gwendolyn Lupin were buried that day, in a cemetery nearby. James and Lily, Peter, Sirius and Remus, all stood in front of the graves long after everyone else had gone ... wondering how everything could have changed so drastically from one day to the next.

Sirius stayed up all night, comforting Remus and wiping his tears away. He silently comforted Remus, because just as words cannot describe how it feels to lose a family member, words cannot provide comfort. Part of him felt hopelessly guilty, part of him felt an inexplicable dread.

* * *

"This is your first assignment, Regulus. Make us proud," hissed Bellatrix from under her mask and hood.

Regulus nodded slowly and walked up to the door. He started to knock, when either Bellatrix or Severus, blasted the door open.

Regulus turned to look at them both. Severus just nodded; Bellatrix looked particularly excited, as if the prospect of killing an innocent girl was thrilling.

Regulus walked in, wand alight and raised above his head, "I-I know you're in here! D-Donna Smith! I know who you are! All I ask, is that you do everything I say ... a-and I won't hurt you!"

Bellatrix laughed shrilly, "Get out of there silly girl, and your death will be less painful."

She waved her wand and a girl about Snape's age came hurtling out from inside a wardrobe, "Please ... stop!"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the Potters and their dear little friend Sirius Black. Where are they now? Tell me! What's been going on in their little world of fancies and happy endings?" Bellatrix asked impatiently.

Donna looked up at them fearfully, "I don't know, I swear, I swear I don't know!"

Bellatrix growled, "TELL ME!"

A shrill shriek came from the bedroom, the unmistakable cry of an infant. Bellatrix smiled cruelly, as Regulus had never seen her smile before and nodded at Severus, who walked to the bedroom and came back with the small baby.

Donna gasped, "No, please no! DON'T! DON'T HURT HER! PLEASE!"

Bellatrix laughed again, "Then, you will tell me all I want to know! Tell me! Or else!"

Tears welled up in Donna's eyes, "Please ... the last I saw them ... it was Lupin's parents' funeral! We didn't talk much, please! Please ... don't hurt her!"

Regulus looked at Severus, willing him to catch his eye. The cries of the baby grew louder, Bellatrix laughed harder, Donna's pleads ...

"_Incendio!_" cried Bellatrix.

Regulus turned in time to see the baby on the ground, on fire, screaming louder and louder. Donna flung herself to her burning baby.

"Do it, Regulus! Just do it!"

Regulus was in shock. He couldn't even raise his wand let alone perform and Unforgivable Curse.

There were flames everywhere, consuming the small house, smoke rising up into the sky. He heard Snape cry, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Regulus was being carried away, away from the cries of the baby, away from the flames consuming the house ... he'd failed.

* * *

"We didn't find out much, my Lord ... only that Greyback did his part."

Voldemort laughed coldly, "And ... Regulus?"

Bellatrix said grimly, "He failed us ... at the last minute he ... "

Severus interjected her, "He will not fail again, I will see to it ..."

Voldemort turned his eyes on Snape, who lowered his, "I see ... Regulus ... I am a very merciful person ... but should you fail again ... "

Regulus bowed low, "Yes your Lordship."

The three bowed out of the room. Regulus followed Snape to his room and closed the door.

"You never told me he was after my brother!"

Snape threw his cloak and mask off, "You never told me you'd care! And when have you thought of him as your brother!"

Regulus gasped, "What are you talking about! He's my brother and he'll always be!"

Snape looked at him as if he'd never seen Regulus before, "You've gone soft is all!"

"I didn't sign up for this, Severus! And I know you didn't either ... please ... let's leave this hell-hole! We're not meant for this kind of life!"

"What are you talking about?" snarled Snape.

"Run away with me."

Snape stared at Regulus for a long time before looking away and whispering, "No ..."

"What! Why not! Please, Severus ..."

Snape shook his head and looked at Regulus in the eye, "No."

Regulus looked at the floor, "Why not!"

"He'll find us ... he- the Dark Lord always knows ... "

Regulus swallowed hard, "Don't you love me?"

Snape looked away, "I love you enough that I won't tell anyone what you've done. Go ... go now ... "

Regulus stared at him, "What!"

"GO!"

Regulus turned from him and ran from the room, ran from Voldemort, and ran from what was the biggest mistake in his life ... he ran not knowing that in doing so, he was running towards his death.

* * *

A/N: What a short chapter ... wow ... well ... anyway ... Regulus ROX!

Ahem ...

Review please!


	18. Scroll 18: The End of the World

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 18: The End of the World

"Dear Sirius ... no ..." Regulus crossed out the words on the parchment furiously.

"To Sirius ... no!" he said again, ripping the offending piece off.

_'Dear brother ...To my brother ... Merlin's beard, this is unbelievable! I can't even write a letter to Sirius ... then again ... I haven't seen him in two years now ... and we really haven't been close ... since ...'_

Regulus threw his quill down, _'Damn! Damn him for being right! Damn him for seeing through my mother, and Bella, and Cissa! Damn him for knowing what kind of person Severus was!'_

Regulus dipped his quill into the ink pot and began scribbling quickly. Soon, he paused and thoughtfully looked at his gray horned owl.

_'Truth is ... I miss your, Sirius ... I don't want to make another stupid mistake ... and even though I've finally done something right ... I want to right the wrongs I committed by not trusting you ... you never misled me before ... and I ...'_

Regulus' thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open and three hooded figures striding in. He recognized two of them immediately, a haughty stride, head held high, black hair poking out from behind the white mask; the brooding figure behind the other two, black eyes staring at Regulus as if he could read his mind ... which he probably could.

Regulus backed away and threw the half-finished letter at his owl, who caught it in its beak and made for the window.

But one of the death eaters, Lestrange perhaps, raised his wand; there was a flash of green light and the owl fell to the floor with a hard 'thud'.

Regulus' hand scrambled instinctively for his wand on the desk, as Bella raised hers. His heart thumped wildly and his hand shook as it took hold of his wand.

Bellatrix strode closer, "The Dark Lord always knows ..."

She threw her head back and laughed, Lestrange joined her ... but Severus just looked at the floor.

Regulus was breathing hard, he knew what was coming, he knew the look in Bella's eyes, he knew the cold laugh only too well. He remembered when she'd nailed his pet kitty to the front door ...

Regulus did not plead, he did not beg for mercy from Bellatrix, not only because he knew he wouldn't receive any, but because his job was done. He'd done what he wanted and the Dark Lord would not survive for long in the world.

No, Regulus looked at Severus, the only person aside from Sirius who had bothered to at least pretend to care. He'd never known love from his mother, the rare hugs and kisses she'd gave him were always cold, meaningless ...

Finally, Bellatrix and Rodolphus stopped laughing. Severus looked up slowly, looked Regulus in the eye. Regulus didn't cry ... didn't smile ...

He mouthed, "I love you ..."

"_Avada Kedavra!_" came Bellatrix harsh words. Regulus was falling, darkness closing in, the last thing he saw was Severus above him, mouthing, "I'm sorry."

Then everything went black.

* * *

"I'm bored, what do you wanna do?" asked Sirius, yawning and looking down at Remus, who was lying on his chest reading.

Remus looked up, "I don't know, you can try reading with me."

Sirius shifted on the couch and pulled tiled Remus' face up, "Nah ... that book is boring."

"It's Shakespeare," argued Remus, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I bet I can do better. To kiss Moony, or not to kiss Moony- that is the question. What's in a body? That which is a werewolf by night, is still my Moony in the morning."

Remus laughed and Sirius grinned, satisfied, "Hah! I'm pretty good, aren't I!"

"You should be a playwright."

"Well, I don't like writing ... but I sure as hell like playing ..." muttered Sirius as he leaned down and captured Remus' lips in a tender kiss.

"You wanna play, right?" asked Sirius, his hot breath on Remus' neck.

Remus threw his book to the floor, making sure it didn't land near the fireplace, and succumbed to Sirius, making a note to tell Sirius off for his bad jokes.

Sirius nibbled on Remus' ear, teasing him. Remus shivered and whispered, "Just .. go ..."

Suddenly, Remus tensed and said, "Moody!"

Sirius pulled away quickly, "No ... I'm Sirius, remember! Don't tell me you've been cheating on me for THAT-!"

"No!" Remus turned Sirius around.

Moody's head was in the fire, limp hair framing his face, one eyebrow raised.

Sirius grinned, "Hey Moody!"

"Once you two have finished you ... whatever you were doing, I want you to come to the old house where we found Fawcett's body. We have something to show you ..."

Then Moody was gone and Remus was standing up and getting their cloaks. Sirius stood up and stretched, "I wonder what they want to show me ..."

Remus threw Sirius his cloak, and fastened his own, "I wonder who 'we' is."

Sirius and Remus found out that 'we' was Moody and Frank Longbottom, when they arrived on Sirius' motorcycle. Sirius raised an eyebrow as he looked at the house.

"I don't get it. There's nothing here but-"

Remus suddenly grabbed his arm. Sirius turned to look at him, and found Remus staring at the sky above the house.

Sirius gasped. The Dark Mark ... the Death Eaters had killed again.

Frank looked at Sirius in the eye, "This ... this may be a bit shocking to you ... brace yourself."

Sirius frowned, "What's going on? Just show me already!"

Moody gestured to the door (which was ajar) gruffly. Sirius walked in, Remus' arm hooked with his.

The small room was dark. There was a single window, open with the curtains flapping in the cold wind of the night.

Sirius' eyes traveled over the room. He saw a small gray mass near the window, a small desk on the other side of the room, and a large black object in the middle of the room.

Sirius let go of Remus and strode over to the mass, which turned out to be a person. Black hair poked out from the Death Eaters cloak that covered him. and his left arm lay limp and uncovered, the sleeve purposely pulled back from the Dark Mark.

Sirius frowned and turned to Moody who was inspecting the desk and the scrolls that littered it.

"What ... this is a Death Eater ... I don't understand-"

Remus had walked over and gasped when he saw the person, lying on his back, face covered with the black cloak, and a white mask lying a few feet away.

"Sirius ... his hair ..."

Sirius crouched down and examined the person's hair. A sudden feeling of cold dread grew in the pit of his stomach as he realized who the person was. He tentatively reached for the cloak and pulled it back quickly.

He almost wished he hadn't.

It was Sirius' own eyes that stared back at him, lifelessly; Sirius' own long, night-black hair was sprawled around the figure that was almost identical to Sirius.

Sirius' shoulders shook and tears sprang to his eyes. He tried to stop, he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, but it wasn't enough. Tears spilled out, running down his face, onto Regulus' body.

Remus tried to hug him, to comfort him, but Sirius just pushed him away. He heard Frank mumble something, and Moody telling them all to give Sirius a moment.

Finally Sirius was alone. Alone with his dead brother, the Death Eater ...

_'Why ... why ... WHY! Merlin ... god ... WHY! Why him!'_

Sirius held his brother's limp body close to his own, tears still spilled out, his shoulders shook even more ...

_'My little brother ... gone ... why! WHY!'_

Sirius looked down at the blank eyes and could not bring himself to close them, still wishing for everything to be a bad dream ... a terrible nightmare.

_'Please ... please god ... let this be a bad, horrible, terrible nightmare! Please let me wake up ... I swear on my life I'll go look for Regulus ... just let this be a bad dream! Please ... please!'_

It was a long, long time before Sirius let go of Regulus' body, letting it flop back onto the floor. He had studied the Dark Mark carefully, remembering the symbol of the people who had corrupted his brother, only to toss him aside and kill him.

Sirius walked over to the small desk. Most of the scrolls were stained with ink from the bottle that had fallen on its side, but there was one that was still legible.

**Dear Sirius,**

**You don't know how hard it is for me to say this but you were right. Everything you said about everything, Mother, the Death Eaters, Bella and Cissa, Severus ... it was all true.**

**I want to apologize for everything and I hope that we will be able to be a family again, no matter how small. Please forgive me and come look for me at the place where they found Fawcett's corpse. I have done something terrible to the Dark Lord, and the Death Eaters will most definitely be after me.**

**Maybe I'm asking too much when I say that I'd like you to forgive me, but I don't expect you to just forget all the horrible things I did. All I want-**

Sirius frowned at the unfinished letter. He felt hot tears sting his eyes again.

"Sirius?" came Remus' voice.

Sirius quickly pocketed the letter and turned to look at Remus, "Yeah?"

Remus sighed, "Would you like to ... go ... we can arrange a funeral-"

"He'll be buried in the basement of Number 12."

Remus frowned, "What?"

Sirius nodded and said in a very hoarse voice, "He'll be buried in our basement ... like dad and everyone else in my stupid family."

Remus tried to touch his arm, but Sirius pulled away, "I'll be out in a sec."

"But, Sirius-"

"I'll be out in a sec!" snapped Sirius, staring at the desk.

He heard Remus sigh and his footsteps fade.

Finally Sirius walked back to his brother's corpse and bent down again. He arranged Regulus just as he'd found him, putting the cloak on him again, arm hanging out and showing the Dark Mark.

He took a last look at Regulus' eyes and whispered, "Good night, sleep tight, dog star's watching you all night."

With that, he finally closed Regulus' eyes and threw the cloak over his face. He stood up and walked out into the cold of the night.

The three other men looked at him.

"Well?" asked Moody.

Sirius shrugged, "It's just some Death Eater dead ... we'll bury him tomorrow in the basement of Number 12."

Remus frowned, "Sirius, he was your bro-"

"My brother died a long time ago! When he decided to join the Dark side ... that's when MY brother died ... this bastard ... I don't know him!"

With that Sirius walked over to his bike and kick-started the engine. He swung his leg over it and waited impatiently for Remus.

Remus gave the other two a sad smile, before joining Sirius. The two sped off, Remus holding onto Sirius' waist for dear life and Sirius speeding almost twice over the speed limit.

Finally, Sirius just cursed and turned the flying gear on. Remus did not feel the need to remind Sirius that they could be seen, right now Sirius just didn't care.

Remus did not know how they got home without any body parts damaged or severed, the way Sirius had been driving.

Sirius now sat in front of him, drinking coffee.

"Sirius?"

Remus received a grunt in response.

"Sirius, if you're sad, you only-"

"I'm not SAD! I don't care about him! He ... didn't give a damn what I thought, now look at him!"

To Remus' utter surprise, Sirius was crying. Remus rushed over and held him as Sirius let go of his grief.

It was like that, they both understood each other; they both knew how to comfort each other ... they always had ... and always would ...

* * *

Christmas found them in James and Lily's house. Sirius was sitting on the rug, leaning on the sofa near the Christmas tree, and Remus sat between his legs, head resting on Sirius' shoulder, reading. Peter, as always, was sitting on the couch, gnawing on a chicken leg. Lily was in the kitchen cooking and James doing his best to distract her.

Sirius was running his fingers through Remus' hair, a habit of his, when he discovered the most horrible, terrible thing that could happen to a twenty-year old.

He looked down at Remus, who looked up from his book, "What?"

Sirius sighed and said in a very choked voice, "You've a gray hair ... see?"

With that Sirius plucked the offending hair off and handed it to a very reproachful Remus.

"I know that Sirius."

"You're twenty! And you're CALM!"

"I'm a werewolf!"

"You're a werewolf!"

Peter looked up, "We knew that already ..."

Sirius opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it. A few seconds later, he spoke again, "What's that have to do with anything?"

Remus sighed, "So you remember the picture of Fenrir Greyback I showed you?"

"Yeah ..."

"And you said he resembled a wolf ..."

"Yeah ..."

"And I told you that was because he was a werewolf-"

"Wait, what! Why! You're saying ... you're going to ... resemble a wolf someday too!"

Remus nodded and Sirius looked at Peter, "That sucks ..."

Peter nodded and stood up, "I'm going to try to steal another chicken leg!"

Sirius stared after him with a disgusted expression, "Anyway ... "

He turned back to Remus, "But you're only twenty! This sucks ..."

Remus laughed, "I'm glad I'm the werewolf. You're so vain, you'd be pouring all the ink bottles in the house on your head right about now."

Sirius grinned, "Probably ... but only the black ink!"

"Dinner's ready!" called Lily.

Sirius stood up quickly and helped Remus up. He looked at the Christmas tree mournfully, "I wanna open the presents!"

Remus rolled his eyes and half-dragged Sirius away.

After a superb dinner (sausages, and roast beef, and turkey, and potatoes and gravy, and many more things) Sirius practically ran to the tree and started throwing presents around.

"This one's Peter's, this one's mine, Remus catch! This one's Prongs', Lily ... mine! Mine! Remus ... Peter ... Prongs ..."

Remus put his face in his hands, "Sirius, you're acting like a child ..."

But Sirius paid no heed, he was already ripping the wrappings off his presents.

Suddenly he started laughing, "Prongs! What in the bloody hell!"

He held up a black dog collar and a bottle of 'Flea-Free'. Lily giggled as James got pummeled by Sirius.

A few moments of madness later, when all the gifts had been opened and the mess cleaned by Lily, Sirius came to sit next to Remus again and kissed him wetly on the lips.

Remus blushed about twenty shades of red and tried to not catch anyone's eye. Sirius wrapped the scarf that Remus had given him (a shade of gray that matched his eyes) and pouted.

"Remus ... you didn't put my watch on!"

Remus looked down at the silver watch Sirius had given him and said sadly, "Sirius ... it's silver ... I can't really-"

Sirius rolled his eyes and snatched the watch from the box, "It's not silver, silly! It's white gold! What kind of boyfriend do you think I am!"

Remus blushed again and kept his eyes on the watch as Sirius clasped it around his wrist.

James cleared his throat suddenly, "Lily and I ... we have an announcement to make ..."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Oh no ... not 'an announcement'."

"Shut up Padfoot. We ... well ... Lily ... is ... well ... we ... are going to have a baby!"

Peter, Remus, and Sirius gasped.

"Wow, James, really?" said Remus, standing up. "Oh that's wonderful!"

Peter nodded along, and looked a bit pale for some reason.

Sirius too stood up and walked over to Lily, "So, how far along are you?" He inspected her stomach carefully.

Lily laughed, "Dunno ... about a month or so."

Sirius nodded grimly, "We have eight months left ... to teach James how to be a human being!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "James will be fine ... as long as he doesn't use _Levicorpus_ to rock the baby to sleep ..."

Sirius sighed, "This signals the end of the world! James is bringing a child into this world ... we are all going to die!"

Lily and Remus laughed as James tackled Sirius to the ground.

"They haven't changed a bit!"

* * *

A/N: Well ... not much to say ... "burst into tears" Regulus' death was SO hard to write ...

But now "sniff" he's GONE! Ahem ... I'm being silly ... just ... Review Please!


	19. Scroll 19: XY390

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 19: XY390

Not even nine months of research and studying (with Remus of course) or watching birthing videos and sneaking into St. Mungo's to watch live births (with Sirius of course) could prepare James for the horrors of Lily going into labor.

And so, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were left to pace outside for what seemed like endless days, but was just a couple of hours.

Finally, the door opened and James poked his head out, grinning, and motioning frantically for them to come inside.

The first thing Sirius did when he saw the tiny bundle in Lily's arms, was raise an eyebrow, "Is he supposed to be that small?"

Remus stepped on his foot, "He's a baby! Lily ... he's adorable ... and ... dear me, he looks just like James!"

Peter nodded, "Yup, just like him!"

Sirius examined the baby carefully, "Except he's ... small ..."

James rolled his eyes, "He's a baby!"

He took the baby from Lily and held it out to Sirius, "Here, hold him."

Sirius backed away, appalled, "No ... he's so small ... and ... fragile ... what if I drop him!"

James rolled his eyes and pushed the baby into Sirius' arms, "Then you'd be a very poor godfather indeed."

Sirius really did almost drop the baby, but thankfully Remus was helping him hold the tiny bundle.

"G-g-g-g-godfather! You ... you can't ... me!"

Lily smiled, "You're really the best man for the job ... and James wouldn't have anyone else."

Sirius grinned weakly, "Heh ... very small ... oh look!"

James, Peter, Remus and Sirius crowded around Lily and looked as the tiny baby opened its eyes and looked around.

"He's got Lily's eyes! Isn't ... oh what's his name!" Sirius looked from James to Lily expectantly.

"Harry James Potter," answered James promptly.

"Wow ... another James ..." Sirius grinned.

James sighed, "I can't believe it! My son!"

"My godson! And Remus and Peter are his uncles!"

Remus frowned, "Now really-"

James shook his head, "No, no, no, Remus! He's right! You two are special too ... you're all like my brothers ..."

Remus beamed, but Peter looked away. James sighed, "Aw come on Wormy ... you'll be fine ..."

Peter looked up, "Really!"

James nodded, "Sure!"

Peter smiled oddly, "If you say so ..."

* * *

In time, Harry grew on Sirius and every time the two got together you were to expect trouble. Sirius would do anything to make Harry laugh, anything at all. Even if it meant using _Levicorpus_ on whoever was nearby, or making the couches fight the coffee table.

So it was no surprise, that on Harry's first birthday, Sirius was the happiest person in the world. He gave Harry a toy broomstick (the younger he gets on one, the better), packages upon packages of Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs, and a toy Snitch that would only hover two feet from him.

It came to them as a surprise that Dumbledore would show up.

"Good evening to all. I see Mr. Pettigrew is here ... good, good, very good indeed. Happy Birthday to you, Harry."

Dumbledore smiled down at Harry and waved his wand conjuring a tiny model galaxy that showed the exact position of the planets and major stars at that very moment.

Harry (like any other toddler would) seized it and shook it, making the sun bump into Earth and Mars. Sirius laughed and picked him up.

"See the shiny one ... right there? That's Sirius ... that's MY star! And that's my constellation Canis Major! See the doggy? See, this star connected with this star-"

James rolled his eyes, "Come inside Professor."

"Thank you very much. It is most regretful to inform you, I bring bad news to you. And most regretfully, on Harry's first birthday. But, I must tell you tonight ... the sooner you know the better."

Dumbledore walked in and waved his wand around the living room. All the windows, doors, even the chimney was sealed. Then he calmly waved his wand again to conjure his squashy purple chair and sat.

Lily and James sat on one of the couches nearest to Dumbledore, Harry on Lily's lap, Sirius and Remus sat in the couch opposite them, but Peter, who seemed to find the situation quite uncomfortable, sat as far from Dumbledore as possible.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, his eyes were not twinkling as usual, " I have gathered evidence from various trustworthy sources, that right now, in this very room, at this exact moment ... there is a spy among us."

It seemed as if an eternity passed before James spoke, "A spy! Here! Now! No! No ... impossible ..."

Harry was now playing with the model galaxy, on the rug.

Dumbledore sighed, "James, I'm sorry. I wish it wasn't true but ..." His eyes traveled to Peter who was pale, then to Remus who was expressionless, then Sirius, whose mouth was open.

James looked around as Harry stood up and pulled at one of Remus' trouser legs, "Moony-moon, ook! Moon!"

Harry pointed to the small white orb that was half-hidden in darkness. Remus smiled down at Harry, "That's right ..."

Sirius and James looked at each other, then at Remus, then at the moon, to which Harry was still proudly pointing to, then back at each other ...

* * *

"No," was the first thing Sirius said to James after Dumbledore had left and the two had gone up to James' library and used _Muffliato_ on the door.

James leaned against a bookcase, "Think about it, it makes sense that he-"

"No! No! NO! It never mattered before, why should it matter now!"

"We're not school boys anymore! We're not seventeen anymore! Stop thinking that everything is like it was!"

"Nothing has changed, I'd KNOW if-"

"His kind has all gone to the dark side! Sirius ... he's a werewolf dammit!"

"Well I'm a Black! Look at MY family history!"

"It's different-!" James ran a hand through hia hair, slowly.

"Different HOW, James! I think I'd have noticed if my LOVER was a Death Eater!"

"Sirius, I'm just saying-"

"You're full of SHIT, James! You fucking HYPOCRITE-!"

"Sirius, you don't know what it's like to know Voldemort's after you! I have a SON-"

"Yeah, I hope he doesn't turn out like you!"

With that Sirius strode out furiouslyand slammed the door shut.

* * *

"Sirius ... who do you think-?" Remus tried asking Sirius while they sat on their couch staring at the fire.

But Sirius silenced him with a kiss, "Shush. Don't think ... thinking is too hard ..."

"Sirius," Remus tried to pull away, but Sirius pinned him down.

"Moony ... I don't want to accept all this ... because if I do ... it'll mean ... accepting that all this time I haven't really known all of you. And I can't stand that!"

Remus nodded, "I feel like that too ... I'm sorry Sirius ... I shouldn't have-"

Remus was silenced by another kiss.

"Don't think ... don't fear ... just feel my body against yours ..." Sirius whispered.

* * *

And everything would have gone fine ... had not Remus received a letter a few days later.

"There's an owl at the window," said Sirius absentmindedly as he cooked breakfast.

Remus stood up and walked over.

A black owl held out his leg stiffly, and when Remus had removed the small letter, flew off as fast as he could.

"How strange ..." frowned Remus.

The envelope was blank, but Remus decided to open it anyway.

He gasped in pain as something shot out at him the moment he tore the envelope open. It was a silver manacle, protruding from the envelope by a silver chain, that clamped around his wrist, burning it.

Remus clenched his teeth to not make any sound and tried to pull away, but was held in place by the thick chain. A sheet of parchment slid out of the envelope like a snake. Writing began appearing on the parchment in large green scrawls.

_**Join the right side. Join our side, Lupin. Don't make the same mistake as your father.**_

Then the words began coming together to form the Dark Mark. Remus' eyes widened. His wrist shook from the pain and blood dripped onto the table.

To make matters worse, from the parchment came a loud piercing howl ... a howl that had haunted Remus' dreams since he was seven years old ...

There was puff of green smoke and the envelope, the letter, and the manacle was gone.

Sirius was there in a second, "Dear god, what ... what ... your wrist! What happened ... what was that howl! Moony! Talk to me! Say something."

Remus kept staring at the spot where the parchment had lain just a few second ago. He shuddered as he remembered the howl and suddenly flung himself into Sirius' arms.

Sirius was taken aback, "What the bloody hell-!"

Nonetheless he hugged Remus back, "What was that? That howl? Why's your arm bleeding! Is there something you're not telling me, Remus!

Remus shook his head, "No ..."

_'There's many things I'm not telling you ...'_

Sirius looked down at Remus in his arms and bit his lip hard, _'Maybe ... maybe James is right ... maybe ... Remus is ...'_

And after that ... nothing was the same.

Remus had tried calling James and Lily many times, James always answered.

"Hello?"

"Yes?"

"It's me, Remus. Hello James."

"Hey. So what's-"

"Is Sirius there? He's been acting really strange."

"He's not here, Remus. Sorry. Gotta go. Good-bye."

And before Remus could reply, James had hung up.

Remus felt silly for feeling lonely. After all he'd gone four years without having anyone to talk to but his mum and dad. But now they were gone as well.

Remus noticed a change in Sirius. He'd go out in the morning and come back late in the night, sometimes he wouldn't come back at all ... for days and days.

Sometimes Remus stayed up to wait for Sirius, and he'd fall asleep on the couch. In the morning, he'd find Sirius had slept in their bedroom. When he tried to wake him, Sirius would jump back and say he had to go out again.

Eventually, Remus gave up on trying to talk to Sirius. But he still thought of him ... feared for him ...

_'I should have seen it coming ... after Regulus ... I mean, after all he is a Black ... it only makes sense ...'_

Remus would have never thought Sirius would go over to the Dark side ... but that was the only explanation for his strange behavior ... so Remus believed ...

_'He's the spy then ... I have to tell James.'_

Remus shook his head, _'James would never believe me. Sirius was his best friend ... I can't ... tell them ... not yet ... '_

And Remus had spent three lonely months, trying to build up the courage to tell Lily and James something but failing miserably.

And he was suspicious, but he dared not ask Sirius about it.

Until one day that Sirius was headed out, Remus took the plunge and asked him, "Sirius, where are you going?"

"Out."

Remus stood up, "But where? Where do you go so much?"

"I'll be back. See ya."

Remus followed, "What's going on! Dumbledore told me something about you using the Fidelius Charm. Is that it!"

Sirius nodded tensely, "Yeah ... I'm their Secret-Keeper."

With that the door slammed shut and the low rumble of Sirius motorcycle announced his departure.

It hurt Remus that he had to get information from Dumbledore. But, Dumbledore was in fact the only one who's attitude hadn't changed towards him. It was as if Dumbledore knew something they didn't ... but then again, Dumbledore always did.

* * *

So it came to his surprise that on October 31, at around 3:00 AM, there was a frantic knocking at his door.

He was startled out of his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and stood up from the couch.

He walked drowsily to the door, "Yes?"

"It's me, Moony! Hurry up!"

"Sirius!"

Remus unlocked the door and was about to pull it open, when Sirius spoke again, "Wait ... we have to do the question thing."

"Question thing! Why?"

"To double check! Hurry and ask ..."

Remus frowned, "Um ..."

Sirius sighed, impatiently, "What's your favorite type of candy?"

"Other than sugar quills, none. I like chocolate better."

"Good, now me."

"Um ... what was our Marauders promise?"

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," answered Sirius urgently.

Remus finally opened the door. The first thing Sirius did, was lock it and use _Muffliato_. Then he grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him to the couch.

He got on his knees and put his hands on Remus' shoulders, "I am so sorry ... I am a complete idiot, Moony. You should've seen it ... destroyed ... fire ... Dark Mark ... dammit! I was so stupid ..."

Remus frowned. Sirius seemed to be talking more to himself than to him.

"Sirius, what-?"

Sirius finally looked up and took Remus' hands into his own.

"Remus! Promise me ... swear to me ... you will not open your door to anyone! Until your hear of me, please, swear that you won't!"

Remus nodded, "Okay, okay ... but Sirius, please tell me what's going on!"

Sirius just kissed Remus' hands, kissed Remus on the lips and Disapparated. Remus felt dread in his stomach. He began pacing, pacing endlessly ... and waiting for Sirius to return.

* * *

"You son of a-!" Sirius yelled as he slammed Peter onto a wall.

"Sirius! Sirius, please ... I didn't mean to ... he was just ... I just ... it wasn't me!"

Peter's eyes darted around the alley, searching frantically for an escape route.

"How COULD you! How COULD YOU! We didn't even suspect you! You BASTARD!"

Peter's trembled, "It wasn't me! It was Remus! Yes ... he forced me to join as well! Please ... I would never ... and you know Remus is a werewolf-"

Sirius punched Peter on the nose, throwing him to the ground, "Don't you fucking dare-"

But Peter was already running away, out onto the street. With a growl, Sirius followed, wand out and not caring if any Muggles saw it.

"I'm going to kill you Peter, dammit!"

Peter ran out into the middle of the street, wand behind his back, and yelled, "HOW COULD YOU, SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY LILY AND JAMES LIKE THAT! YOU WERE THEIR BEST FRIEND! AND YOU SOLD THEM TO VOLDEMORT!"

Sirius' eyes widened and he raised his wand, pointing it at Peter, "You bastard! How DARE-"

But Peter just grinned at him and the next thing Sirius knew, there was blinding flash of light and suddenly he was standing in the middle of the blown-up street, wand raised, with twelve people dead in front of him.

It was so ridiculous, so clever and stupidly ridiculous, Sirius laughed. It was the only thing he could think to do. Laugh, and laugh, and laugh, because Peter wasn't as idiotic as they had thought for eleven whole years. He had deceived them ... all this time ...

* * *

Remus was startled out of his sleep for the second time that day. This time, it was sharp tap at the window. Remus sat up and stretched. He rubbed his eyes and walked to the window, yawning.

It was an owl, this time though, bearing the Daily Prophet.

Remus paid him five Knuts and threw the newspaper down on the coffee table. He went to make tea and returned with a cup, to sit on the couch.

He stayed there a long time, just staring at his tea. Finally, he decided to actually read the Prophet. Picking it up, he took a sip of tea.

A few seconds later, there was a 'crash' of china as the cup hit the wooden floor and shattered into a thousand little pieces. Tea seeped through the rug near the coffee table.

Remus stared at the newspaper in his trembling hands.

'_Please ... god ... no ... please no ... '_

Remus closed his eyes as the tears that welled up in them threatened to fall.

He stood up suddenly, throwing the newspaper to the tea-soaked floor and ran to the door, grabbing his coat and slamming the door shut.

The newspaper laid there, soggy, but still bearing the picture of a struggling man, yelling and holding a prison number: XY390.

The bold black headline read: **Sirius Black Sent to Azkaban**

* * *

A/N: This was a really short chapter ... oh well! Had to end it here because the next chappies are-

Ahem! I can't tell you why! This fic ain't over yet!Not by a long shot! Well ... not really long ... hmm ...

"thinks hard" I dunno ... I stil have to ... and I have to ... and then I have to write when they ...

"cough" Stop spying on me! I don't want to give anything away! I really wanna end this with a happy ending ...

"ahem" Please review!


	20. Scroll 20: Lie Low At Lupin's

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 20: Lie Low At Lupin's

Midnight ... the dark time of night when you think everyone's sleeping ... A loud howl pierces the air and the sound of chains rattle against the walls of the basement.

12:00 AM

_**Padfoot! Padfoot! Moony wants Padfoot! Where is Padfoot!**_

12:30 AM

_**Can't smell, can't smell, can't smell!**_

_**Where's my Padfoot, where?**_

1:00 AM

The werewolf sniffed the air, hopefully.

_**No scent ... no scent anywhere ... **_

1:30 AM

The wolf frantically scratched on the wall.

_**Night air ... cold ... dark ... have to get out!**_

_**Find Padfoot, find Padfoot, find Padfoot!**_

2:00 AM

_**Open air ... get out! Must get out! Must find Padfoot ...!**_

2:30 AM

_**Alone ... alone ... no one here ... Moony alone ... alone again ...**_

3:00 AM

The chain rattled violently as the wolf bit and scratched at itself.

_**Padfoot is a liar! Liar, liar, liar!**_

3:30 AM

The wolf lay on the floor, bloody, weary, defeated ...

_**Padfoot is gone ... Moony's alone ...**_

* * *

Summer; 1994 

Lie low at Lupin's, I will contact you there.

It had been so easy for Dumbledore to say it, no one else could have noticed the meaning behind his words,

Lie low at Lupin's, I know you have matters to clear up with him, I will contact you there ...

Remus Lupin was sitting on his couch, now very old and tattered and patched, reading Hairy Snout, Human Heart by an anonymous author.

There came a knock at his door and he put the book down, dismayed.

_'No ... no ... not like this! Why's the Ministry checking up on me today!'_

It was true. Once every ... random amount of years, the Ministry would send a member of the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit to check up on Remus.

It had been Umbridge last time; Remus prayed it wasn't her this time.

After flicking his wand a few times, in a feeble attempt to clean some dust up, straighten the cushions, and hide the mess in his bedroom, he walked to the door.

But when he opened the door, he found himself half-wishing he hadn't, half-wishing he could throw his arms around the person that stood leaning against the doorframe, grinning and holding a chain that led to a hippogriff.

"Hey," said Sirius, casually, as if he'd only gone for a ride in his motorcycle and forgotten his keys, like he always used to ...

Remus stared at him stupidly for a full five seconds with his mouth slightly open.

Finally he blinked and managed to choke out, "Sirius? What-? Why-? Is that ... Buckbeak!"

Sirius' grin grew wider, "The one and only."

Remus' eyes widened, "You ... well ... that makes sense but ..."

Sirius just kept looking at him and Remus looked away, "You shouldn't stay outside for too long ... come, come in."

Sirius jerked his head towards Buckbeak, "What about him? Basement?"

Remus nodded, "Yes, but only-"

"Only if you don't need it," finished Sirius.

Remus nodded, "Right."

He held the door open for Sirius and Buckbeak. Then he spent a full five minutes locking the door back up. He pressed his forehead against the door and sighed.

Finally, he turned around to find Sirius staring at him. Buckbeak was probably already in the basement.

"So ... how, how are you, Sirius?"

Sirius still just stared at him, "I'm good. You?"

"I'm good too ... would you like-?"

"This house hasn't changed," interrupted Sirius.

"Tea? Of coffee? I expect you're hungry-"

Remus was cut off again by Sirius, "Why? You still have my old things, don't you, Remus? Remus?"

Remus continued, determined to change the subject, "-and would you like a bath? Second door to your left."

Remus turned around and walked into the kitchen. He suddenly felt Sirius' arms around his waist. Remus tensed. Sirius had always, always done this, sneak up on him and hug him from behind ... and whisper into his ear ...

"I know where the bathroom is ... I lived here for four years ..." Sirius whispered into Remus' ear, his hot breath on Remus' neck.

Remus shivered, like he'd always done right before giving in to Sirius and resting his head on Sirius' shoulder, and letting Sirius kiss his neck ... maybe even bite it a bit and lick ...

He could just close his eyes and be twenty-two again ...

_'No!'_

Remus came to his senses and pulled away from Sirius, who just stared at him, like a puppy deprived of its bone.

"Si-Sirius ... we can't ... we ... we're not twenty-two ... anymore ... it's ... complicated ..."

Remus put his hand on the counter to steady himself, "I'm sorry ... I ..."

But Sirius was already walking away, "I'll be taking a quick bath ..."

It was only when he heard the bathroom door close that he sighed with relief and put his face in his hands.

He was angry. Angry for being so stupid. Angry for hurting Sirius ... angry for not letting himself give in.

_'Damn it all!'_

A ridiculous thought came to him suddenly, _'Sirius will need a towel ...'_

* * *

Sirius leaned against the tub and stared at the water. His wiped away the excess shampoo from his hair and threw it onto the water. 

_'Remus hates me ... well, I guess I shouldn't have expected for him to throw his arms around me and start shagging ... '_

Sirius sighed again, _'Damn it! I should've ... rather, I shouldn't have just approached him ... so casually ... we're ... we've been apart for so long ... I just couldn't resist-'_

Sirius' thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door. Remus came in with a towel.

"Just thought you might-"

Sirius' eyes locked on Remus, who suddenly blushed, "Oh Merlin ... I didn't knock, did I! I'm so sorry ..."

He turned to leave but Sirius spoke up, "It's nothing you haven't seen."

Remus sighed, wearily, "You're ... so thin ..."

"So are you, but in my case I have an excuse. You see having one meal a day that consists of a leaf of bread and a jug of water ... yeah, that'll do that to you."

Remus smiled when he saw Sirius grinning. He walked closer and dropped to his knees, near the tub. Sirius started scrubbing his hair furiously, as Remus looked on.

After a few minutes of scrubbing and pulling a few dark hairs out, which fell sadly to the water, Remus laughed a bit. Sirius looked up, mouth open. Remus had laughed ... not his new 'mature-person' laugh, but his old 'school-boy, young-person-in-love-with-Sirius' laugh. It was more of a gigglethan an actual laugh.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "If you must stay and watch me battle with the tangles in my hair, you might as well hand me a pair of scissors!"

Remus smilesd and retrieved them, "Here."

Sirius hacked at his hair, leaving it hopelessly uneven. Remus couldn't stand to watch it.

"Stop! Or you'll be bald before long. I'll do it."

Sirius handed him the scissors grudgingly, "Yeah well ... it doesn't matter."

Sirius sat in the bathtub, staring at the water, and at his skin getting wrinkled.

"Are you DONE yet!"

"Yes I am, in fact," Remus stood up. "Go on, take a look."

Remus motioned to the mirror over the sink. Sirius stood up, having completely forgotten he was naked, and got out of the tub.

The first thing he said was, "Oh my god! I look like ... like ... when I was at school! It's ... strange ... "

Remus shrugged and handed him the towel, "I liked you then."

Sirius faced him and took the towel wrapping it around his waist, "And now ... you don't?"

Remus bit his lip and turned around, "Dinner's almost ready."

Sirius laughed, the kind of laugh Remus missed, his 'dog-like-bark' of a laugh, "I hope not! If you're still as bad at cooking as you are at brewing potions, I'm not eating!"

Remus shook his head and walked out, leaving Sirius to dry himself and/or finish his business in the bathroom.

Once he had, he came out, long, black hair dripping wet, but clean shaven and looking miraculously younger. Perhaps it was because he was smiling, and his wild hair was neatly combed (as neat as Sirius liked, anyway) and shiny, like it always used to be.

Remus couldn't help but stare at him, a trace of what had once been young beauty, not quite there, but not quite gone.

"Um ... about my clothes-?"

"You know where they are," replied Remus, looking away.

He didn't understand why he couldn't face Sirius when they spoke of what had been ... and what could come to be. Maybe, he reasoned, it was fear. He was afraid of succumbing to the look in Sirius' cool gray eyes ... afraid of letting go of all his pain and guilt and breaking down and losing control. Afraid of giving in to what his body and heart yearned for.

After all, Sirius was the only one who made him feel this way ...

A few minutes later, Sirius joined him at the table for dinner. He was wearing black trousers and a gray sweater with 'Padfoot' on the back. Remus had given it to him for a birthday, he'd forgotten which one. Since Remus had so much experience with sewing, he'd stitched 'Padfoot' in black letters on the back with magic.

Remus' breath caught in his throat, "Sirius ... what are you wearing!"

Sirius looked at him blankly, "Clothes ..."

Remus just sighed and handed him a bowl of soup.

Sirius sniffed it, "Smells like those canned soups ..." After tasting it, he nodded, "Yup, I knew it."

Remus just smiled.

There was a few minutes of silence after that, until Sirius spoke up, "I saw your watch."

Remus tensed, "Oh?"

"Yeah, it was all dusty and stuff, but it still works. I put it on the night-table."

Remus frowned, "I ... didn't want anything to remind me of you after ... and then I forgot about it ... I'm-"

"Don't apologize."

After more silence, it was Remus who spoke, "Why? Why didn't you-?"

"Tell you?" finished Sirius. He put his spoon down and looked Remus. "After Dumbledore told us there was a spy ... I suspected you."

Remus just frowned again, "Why Sirius?"

"Because of ... something stupid really. Something that never mattered before," Sirius said, glumly, while putting his face in his hands.

Comprehension dawned on Remus' face, "Because of what I was? Am? Because I'm a werewolf?"

Sirius nodded, face still buried in his hands. Remus felt a stab of pity.

More silence, then Sirius looked up, "And you? Why'd you suspect me?"

Remus looked away, "What's interesting is that no one suspected Peter."

"That's not going to work, Remus," said Sirius, tilting his chair back on two legs and grinning haughtily.

"And he was the spy all alone. It just shows-"

"Why, Remus? It can't be that bad," Sirius interrupted.

Remus sighed, "Because of something that never mattered before, I guess."

Sirius frowned and let his chair fall back onto all four legs, "Huh?"

"I thought that ... after Regulus ... you'd-"

"WHAT! By Godric ... no! You thought because I was a Black-!" Sirius looked furious.

Remus just stared calmly at him, "You went out all the time, never telling me where you went. I tried asking James, he said he hadn't seen you either.

Sirius calmed down a bit, "That was a lie. I was there all along. And ... that letter you got ... with the silver and the howl ..."

Remus nodded, "But as you put it so well in the Shrieking Shack, I would have died rather than betray my friends ..."

Sirius put his face in his hands again, "It's all my fault, you know."

Remus reached across the table as if to take Sirius' hand, but thought better and pulled it back. Sirius, though, noticed, and took Remus' hand in both his own.

Remus tried to tug his hand away, but Sirius held fast, "Remus ... why do you try to pretend you don't-"

"Because I don't. Because-" Remus started firmly, but was cut off.

"Why can't everything be like it was! We can try-"

"That's the problem! Everything isn't like it used to be! We're not seventeen Sirius! We're not in Hogwarts and James and Peter aren't here anymore! Everything is NOT fine, just because we say! And we can't do anything we want, because everything is not possible!"

"Never say nev-" started Sirius.

"Don't you dare finish that! Sirius ... that day ... you could have said something! You suddenly knocked on the door, told me to stay here until I heard from you, the next thing I know ... I pick up the Prophet and you've been arrested, James and Peter are dead, and I was the only one alive! I felt so ... I felt that I should've died too!"

Sirius sighed and stood up, finally letting go of Remus. He walked over, but Remus stood as well and backed away.

"I felt that, if I wasn't there to have prevented it all, I should've died or gone to Azkaban as well. You were as good as dead to me, Sirius. Then you change my life again ... you're now innocent and ... "

Remus was backed against the sink, "I'm afraid that you'll change my life abruptly if I ... give in ... I don't want to, not again!"

And Remus let go, like he did so rarely, and cried. Tears cascaded down his cheeks and onto Sirius' shirt, that was now pressed against Remus' cheek.

Remus held onto Sirius tightly, as if afraid that he would disappear if Remus was to let go. Sirius held him and breathed in that familiar scent, half-Remus/half-Moony, that he'd missed so much.

He tilted Remus' head up and kissed him. Remus was reluctant at first and tried to pull back, but finally gave in to the feeling coursing through his body, the warm, happy feeling that **he'd** missed so much.

They pressed lips almost harshly, bumped teeth awkwardly, but finally found the rhythm they'd had so long ago ... they tongues licked at each other hungrily, as if it was their last kiss.

Finally they broke apart for air. Remus looked at Sirius, his lips swollen and parted.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' waist and pulled him closer so they were right up against each other. He kissed Remus cheek and moved down to his neck. He nibbled Remus' ear gently and whispered, "Love you, Moony ..."

Remus had his hands around Sirius' neck, he pulled his closer still and whispered back, "Love you too, Padfoot ..."

"I wish I could stay like this with you forever ..."

Remus suddenly pulled away, "The full moon has very rotten timing ..."

Sirius pouted, "No! Aw man ... so Buckbeak's gotta be let in the house?"

Remus grinned, "As long as he keeps off the bed ..."

"Oh yes, that's totally just ours," said Sirius with a wink.

_

* * *

Who are you! Get out! GET OUT! Night ... air ... must get out ... must ... bite! Kill! _

Padfoot frowned, **You don't recognize me?**

Moony turned back at him and growled, _Get out! NOW! This is MINE! I want you OUT! OUT!_

Padfoot just ran over to him and pinned him down, **_You remember me, Moony?_**

Moony froze, _What did you call me?_

**Moony. It's Padfoot. I'm back.**

Moony shoved him off and retreated, _Get away! Moony hates you, Padfoot! Padfoot left Moony! So many moons alone! MOONY HATES YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT OR MOONY WILL TEAR PADFOOT TO PIECES!_

Padfoot just walked over and lied down next to him, **Moony ... I promise I won't leave you ... ever! Never, ever again! I swear!**

Moony stared at him, great honey eyes narrowed, _Swear?_

**On my canine honor!**

Moony frowned, _Moony doesn't understand ..._

Padfoot laughed, **Um ... I swear on ... my tail.**

Moony considered him for a second, _Padfoot swears on his tail!_

Padfoot nodded.

_Padfoot can lie next to Moony_, said Moony simply.

Padfoot smiled and did so ... just lied there, sleeping with the great gray wolf next to him ...

* * *

The rising of the sun was one of Sirius' favorite parts of he Full Moon night. He sat up and watched as the first few rays shone through the cracks under and around the basement's door. 

The wolf's legs lengthened into human legs and arms, the paws into hands and the claws shrank back to nails. The snout of the wolf shrank back into a face and the fur disappeared, leaving only Remus' light-brown hair more speckled with gray and the lines under his eyes more pronounced than Sirius remembered.

He bounded forward, still as the dog and licked Remus' face. Remus opened his eyes feebly and smiled up at the dog. He raised a skinny arm and scratched behind the dog's ears.

Remus raised himself up on one elbow and wrapped pulled the dog closer, feeling the softness of the fur against his cheek.

Then the fur was gone and Remus was left with Sirius, pressing his cheek against Remus. Remus felt himself being pulled up and off the ground, and he was being carried away from the dusty grimy floor of his basement. He hugged Sirius closer and closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep.

The first thing Sirius noticed, upon entering his and Remus' old bedroom, was that nothing had really changed much. There were still pictures of the two of them scattered around the room, most turned away or turned down.

Sirius placed Remus in their bed which still didn't squeak, and pulled the covers up to Remus' arms. He walked over to 'their' bedside table. There was the picture of the time they had tried ice skating on the lake in front of Hogwarts.

Sirius laughed. He'd managed to teach Remus just how to actually do it, when he'd tried showing off and fallen through thin ice near the center.

**"I'm going to let you go, okay Remmy?" **

Remus looked up, eyes wide and fearful, "And if I fall!"

Sirius let go laughingly and skated around Remus, who seemed frozen to the spot.

**"It's easy! Just do as I taught you!" yelled Sirius over his shoulder, skating away, his scarf trailing behind him. Remus skated forward, cautiously, past James who had a camera and was ready to take Lily's picture whenever she came by.**

**Sirius attempted a spin and landed on his behind. He laughed as James took his picture and Remus skated towards him. Then he'd fallen through the ice and almost drowned, had it not been for the giant squid and Remus, for all James had done was take pictures and snort with laughter.**

Sirius sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the 'silver' watch he'd given Remus for the last Christmas they'd been happy. Instead of numbers, there were moon phases; full moon for the 12, new moon for the 6. In the center was the star Sirius and at the ends of the hour and minute hands, there was a black dog and a gray wolf.

_'I really wish I could ... go back to that time ... when everything was ... different ...'_

Beside him, Remus stirred and sat up, "Sirius?"

Sirius turned around and smiled, "Remus ... hungry?"

Remus nodded and pulled the covers higher, "Can you ... well, I'm not wearing anything-"

Sirius just stared at him, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Remus' cheeks were tinged with pink at Sirius' words. He took a deep breath and spoke again, "Sirius, about last night-"

Sirius leaned against the headboard, "Here it comes ..."

"The moon was really addling my brains-"

"The Nile," said Sirius yawning.

"I really didn't know what I was saying," continued Remus.

"-is a river in Egypt," finished Sirius, smiling at Remus.

"And I ... don't think what I did ... was what-"

Sirius pounced on him, suddenly, pinning him down against the pillows, lips pressing hungrily against Remus'. Remus' eyes widened, but he wrapped his arms around Sirius, deepening the kiss. Sirius pulled the covers down, reached for Remus-

"Ahem," came a voice from the doorway.

Sirius and Remus broke apart, instantly, their eyes wide.

Remus paled, "Oh ... god ... Professor Dumbledore!"

Sirius just grinned, "How's it hangin'?"

Dumbledore smiled a bit, his eyes twinkling madly, "I shall pretend I have not seen any of this, and will be outside making a cup of tea. Would you like some?"

Sirius nodded, seeing as how Remus was petrified.

Dumbledore started walking away, but turned, "Incidentally ... Remus, you might want to ... hitch the covers up just a bit."

Remus came to his senses and pulled the covers up red-faced. Sirius stood up and stretched, "We'll be out in a sec, Proff. We've got a bit of ... er, unfinished business."

Dumbledore just smiled mysteriously, "I know that well enough. And, Sirius ... enjoy the happiness while it lasts. I daresay you won't be pleased with what I'm having you do."

With that, Dumbledore walked out. Sirius looked at Remus, eyebrow raised.

Their thoughts were one, _'What's Dumbledore having us do, now?'_

* * *

A/N: Yeah, what IS Dumbledore having them do now? DUN DUN DUN! Tune in next update to: Under the Full Moony! 

Throws Moony X Padfoot plushies at reviewers: Step right up and grab your plushies!

But Siriusly, review please!


	21. Scroll 21: Number 12 Grimmauld Place

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 21: Number 12 Grimmauld Place

"Over my DEAD body!" yelled Sirius, standing up quickly and knocking his chair over.

Remus frowned up and Sirius, "Honestly, Padfoot-"

"ARE YOU INSANE! I'M NOT GOING BACK TO THAT HELL-HOLE!" Sirius shook with anger and glared at Dumbledore who merely smiled at him.

"It's the only place we have to set up head-quarters," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"WELL, well ... what about here?" said Sirius, ignoring Remus' glare/

"The ministry, I believe, has this residence registered in the Werewolf Registry, am I right Remus?"

Remus nodded, "Sirius, stop acting like a child and sit down."

Sirius grabbed his upturned chair, righted it, and sat down sulkily. He tried to avoid looking at Dumbledore.

_'Filthy, wrinkled old- I'd like to see HIM live there! There's plenty of other places, why there!'_

Remus put his hand on Sirius, "Do it for the Order."

Sirius pulled his hand abruptly and titled his chair back on two legs, "Damn the Order to hell! In fact, I quit!"

"You can't quit," said Dumbledore, still smiling.

Remus, however, was outraged, "Sirius Orion Black! How can you talk about the Order of the Phoenix as if it were ... some CLUB! And who do you think is keeping your sorry arse out of Azkaban? Kingsley Shacklebolt, Kingsley Shacklebolt's son!"

Sirius frowned, "Kingsley named his son Kingsley?"

"But that's beside the point! The point is, Dumbledore's helping mislead the Ministry and he could very well stop!"

Dumbledore kept smiling, "I really wouldn't, but I don't think Sirius would want to quit. You'd betray Lily and James' memory, and disappoint Harry greatly."

Sirius bit his lip and thought a while.

"And Remus would have to go on the jobs alone-"

"ALRIGHT! I'll do it, dammit! But you-!" Sirius turned on Remus who looked amused. "-you're coming to help me make Number 12 Grimmauld Place suitable for human life!"

"If you insist," said Remus sarcastically.

"Well, then, gentlemen, I will get cracking on the Unplottable Spells and Disillusionment Charms. I well see you there.." With a nod and a wink, Dumbledore was gone.

Sirius grumbled, "I ran away from that old place, and now I'm forced to go back, that's all crap!"

Remus reached out for Sirius, but stopped half-way, "I ... I'm sorry I said all those things to you-"

Sirius sighed and stood up. He took Remus' hand and pulled him out of the chair, pressing him onto his own chest, "Moony ... Moony ... I hate that place ... it'll bring back bad memories ... and the place is a total freak show! Wait until you see it!"

Remus buried his face in Sirius' sweater, "We'd better get going."

Sirius nodded and held tighter to Remus, "Yeah ..."

Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck, "We wouldn't want to be late ..."

"Oh no, of course not," mumbled Sirius.

They stayed for a long time like that, in a tight embrace, forgetting the world around them.

_**Let's dance in style,  
Let's dance for a while  
Heaven can wait  
We're only watching the skies**_

"Sirius?" whispered Remus.

"Yeah?"

"I can't help being afraid ..."

_**Hoping for the best  
But expecting the worst  
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?**_

"Of what?"

"Of ... this ..."

_'Of falling in love again ... and having my world crumble.'_

Sirius sighed, "You keep saying that, but you never say exactly what you're afraid of."

_**Let us die young or let us live forever  
We don't have the power  
But we never say never**_

"If ... If something should happen to you, if you should leave me," began Remus choosing his words carefully.

"Don't even think of that, Remus! We're barely building things up again and you're already tearing it down ... "

_**Sitting in a sandpit,  
Life is a short trip  
The music's for the sad men**_

Remus bit his lip, "There is a war going on, there's always the chance that I ... or you ... will get killed ..."

Sirius frowned, "Hey, you can't get rid of Sirius Black that easily, no siree!"

Remus laughed, "Mighty Sirius Black is back, then?"

" 'Back in Black!' is my new motto!" Sirius laughed, then looked down at Remus concerned.

"Do you really expect me to leave you again?" he asked softly.

"I have come to expect the worst from life."

Sirius gasped, but did not pull away, "When have you had to expect the worse from me!"

"I guess ... never ..."

Sirius pulled away and grabbed Remus' hand, "Well, let's not get old standing around here! We have a house to detoxify!"

Remus smiled, "You seem enthusiastic."

"As long as you're by my side ... anything's fun, Remus," said Sirius, pulling the other to the door.

Remus' heart beat wildly in his chest, _'Sod it all ... I feel twenty-two already.'_

_**So many adventures couldn't happen today  
So many songs we forgot to play  
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue  
We let them come true**_

**_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever _**

Sooner or later they all will be gone  
Why don't they stay young ..

* * *

"Cheerful place you grew up in ..." said Remus looking around at the elf heads on the walls, along with the dingy dust covered floors.

Sirius nodded, "Isn't it?" He walked past the grisly display in the hall and motioned for Remus to wait there.

Remus sighed and looked around again. Black moth-eaten curtains caught his eye. He walked over frowning and pulled them open.

He knew it was a mistake in an instant. The life-sized portrait of a woman with long black hair, that had been sleeping, started screaming.

"WHO DARES- WHO GOES THERE- BEGONE FROM MY HOUSE, YOU-"

Sirius came running back to the hall, growling, "DAMN YOU, HAG! I so wished I'd never hear your stupid voice again!"

Remus backed away as Sirius grabbed the frame and started pulling at it. The woman just laughed, a cold high laugh that was very familiar somehow ...

"YOU!" was her greeting to Sirius. "YOU ABOMINATION! SHAME OF MY FLESH! HOW DARE YOU BRING THAT, THAT-"

"THAT is MY lover, Remus Lupin, if you must know, you b-"

The woman gasped in horror and glared at Remus, "YOU! BEGONE FROM MY HOUSE YOU CREATURE! YOU WEREWOLF! HALF-BREED! HOMOSEXUAL-"

"ARGH! SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP, WITCH!" Sirius wrenched at the frame violently but it stayed put.

Remus sighed, "It's got a permanent sticking charm you know."

Sirius pulled at his hair, "DAMMIT ALL!"

He yanked at the curtains, trying to pull them shut. Remus rushed over to help and together they managed to close them. There was silence once more.

Sirius slumped to the floor, "So it begins ..."

Remus kneeled in front of him, "So, who was that?"

Sirius looked up, "Oh right, I forgot to introduce you, Remus this is my dear, sweet, understanding, kind, and caring ... mum."

Remus' mouth dropped open, "THAT ... I mean ... she's your mum?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, "Unbelievable isn't it. I coulda set her on fire if I had a wand."

"Speaking of which, what are you going to do without one? You can't just walk into Ollivanders and ask for a wand ... nor can I ..."

Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up, "My family keeps the deceased's wands and bodies. You know that I buried Regulus in the crypt under this very house."

"I remember you didn't let me in ..."

"Right, well, I had my reasons, didn't I?" Sirius shrugged. "Let's go up to the upper floor, see if I can find my dad's wand."

Remus was about to say something, thought better of it, and just followed him, hand in hand with Sirius, who seemed to think that the house would attack Remus otherwise.

"Right, Moony. We're going into my parent's old room. If something comes at us, duck!"

"You forget, I'm the one with the wand," said Remus.

"You forget I'm a Black," Sirius shot back and threw the door open.

Nothing came hurtling out at them, or screamed at them, or even move. The large bed stayed put, dusty and all.

Sirius walked quickly to the bedside table and rummaged through it. He brought out a long silver box and looked at Remus, "This is why I can't you wander off anywhere."

Remus sighed and sat on the dusty bed, "I'm not two years old ..."

Sirius frowned, "I'm trying to be your knight in shing Black armor, humor me?"

Remus laughed, "Alright, you we're right. How could I have ever thought I'd get along in the world without you?"

Sirius smiled and opened the bow. He lifted a black wand and pointed it at Remus, who flinched.

Nothing happened.

Sirius pouted angrily, "What the hell! Why's it not working! What am I going to do now, Moony!"

Remus stood up, "Well ... there is ... one other person ... who might be a better match than your father ..."

Sirius wrinkled his nose, "I DOUBT my mum's wand-"

"Not your mum ..."

Remus looked out the door, to the door across the hall ...

Sirius swallowed hard, "No. I'd rather not have a wand, I mean, you can go get another wand that matches you, it'll work fine!"

"Sirius ... if you want, I'll get it-"

"No! We'll go together ... this house is pure evil, Moony."

Sirius motioned Remus to follow him to the room across from his parent's room. He threw open the door quickly and walked in, grumbling.

Remus looked around. In the whole house, this room seemed to be the only one that had pictures of Sirius. He looked at a picture in a silver frame of unmistakably Sirius, about nine years old, and a smaller boy who looked almost exactly like him, around seven years old, laughing and sticking their tongues out.

There was a large family portrait that took up the whole wall. Thankfully, it was silent. The same woman from the portrait below was sitting on a silver and green chair, looking haughty and holding a small boy's hand. Behind her, stood a tall man with stormy-blue eyes and long, black hair. He had a hand on Sirius' shoulder. The two boys were sticking their tongued at each other in turn.

There were three girls off to the side, all long-haired, but two were dark-eyed and dark-haired, and one was pale-eyed and pale-haired.

Remus turned to Sirius, who had a wand in his hand, "This is Regulus' room right? The small boy ... that's him?"

Sirius nodded and looked at the ground. He said in a rather hoarse voice, "So are we ... going to ... get out of here?"

"Does the wand work?"

Sirius looked at it a moment, "Dunno ... "

"Try it then, Padfoot. Go on."

Sirius pointed it at Remus, who was bombarded by little chocolate bars.

Remus laughed, "It works then."

"Yeah, let's go Moony."

Remus walked out and Sirius closed the door, muttering ,"Colloportus

"You locked it?" asked Remus, concerned.

"Yep. Hey, wanna see my old room?"

Remus shrugged, "Sure. Are you actually going to sleep in it?"

"I might as well. Plus, the only guest room on this side is next to my room ... and I want easy access to your room."

Remus frowned, "What's all this talk of my room, your room? Why can't we just share-"

"Molly Weasley's coming. With her lot of kids. You can at least pretend you're sleeping there, right?"

Remus grinned and looked at the watch Sirius had given him. He'd taken to wearing it everywhere, usually hidden, but still there, "Got ya."

"It's going to be hard, you know, with her here. We're going to have to use _'Muffliato'_ a lot," said Sirius as he waved his wand over the room, lighting the candles and fixing the currently broken bed.

"And we'll have to make sure your mum doesn't shout out what abominations we are for being together," Remus said with a small laugh and pointed his wand at the dust, which disappeared.

"I can see it now, 'Shame of my flesh, snogging other men in my house, and a werewolf no less! Treacherous, poofy, bastard! Sodomy! And blood traitor!' " Sirius said with a very good imitation of his mother, while lighting the lamps around the room.

Remus just laughed, that 'giggle-type' laugh that Sirius liked so much and managed to change the sheets with a flick of his wand.

* * *

It was hard work, hiding it from Mrs. Weasley. She caught them, once, snogging in the attic, which they were clearing out for Buckbeak. 'Slow Hand' by the Pointer Sisters was on Remus' old record player and Sirius and Remus were sitting on the floor, snogging like rabid teenagers.

Mrs. Weasley had cleared her throat various times before Sirius had released Remus, very reluctantly so. She, apparently, disliked Sirius, enough to even ignore the fact that he was sleeping with Remus.

"Why don't you find yourself a nice girl?" she'd ask, even though Sirius was sitting right next to Remus. Sirius, seeing as how the nine Weasleys and occasionally Moody, or Kingsley, or Mundungus were in the room, could only grit his teeth as Remus smiled at Mrs. Weasley and shrugged and Moody sniggered, but thankfully said nothing.

Then there was Snape. Obnoxious, oily-haired, Snape who hadn't changed a bit, in Sirius' opinion, since their school years.

"How's your dog doing, Lupin?" he'd ask.

Or sometimes, it would be, "Pity, you were on the wrong side. We could have, ah, become so much more ..."

It wasn't only that Sirius hated Snape for ever daring to have a crush on HIS Moony, it was the fact that Regulus had turned his back on Sirius, partially, because of Snape. He'd gone and joined the Death Eaters and gotten himself killed for believing that Snape could ever love him.

Maybe Snape knew that, and wanted to get his revenge on Sirius that way, of maybe he didn't ... and had just made a mistake.

In any case, their secret was getting harder to keep, and the two lovers made the most of the rare occasions they found themselves alone.

* * *

Alone. Remus hadn't realized it, but ... he now really was alone. Sirius had ... left him again ...

Moony knew that ... and didn't like it. And it took three years for Remus to figure out what it was that left him feeling so empty and betrayed after the full moon.

_**Night ... night air ... must get out ... Padfoot ... hate Padfoot ... liar ... he left moony again ...**_

The wolf hacked at the manacles binding him.

_**Padfoot ... left! Moony knows... Padfoot ...**_

The great, gray wolf lunged at the wall, but only succeeded in hurting his snout. Nonetheless, he did not surrender.

_**PADFOOT! MOONY KNOWS! PADFOOT LIED! Moony knows ...**_

The wolf began to pace, as it had done for three years worth of full moons.

_**Moony knows, Moony knows, Moony knows ... Moony can sense it ...**_

The wolf let out a long mournful howl, and waited, listening carefully for the dog's howl that would usually follow. He heard only silence.

_**Why ... why ... ANSWER! Moony knows, Moony knows ... **_

The sun was rising. The great wolf lied down, weary and defeated.

_**Moony knows ... Moony smells ...Padfoot ... is out there ...**_

The sun rose high into the sky and shone through the crack below the door to Remus' basement and onto his face.

He awoke with a start and sat up. There were only two words that came to his mind, "Sirius ... alive ..."

* * *

Remus Lupin had changed a lot during the three years after Sirius' death', even Harry knew that much. He had noticed Remus laughed less, even now that Voldemort had been defeated and everyone was considerably more cheerful. He noticed Remus stared at the fireplace when everyone else was having conversations and such, that he was quieter at mealtimes (in the rare occasion that he actually showed up at Mrs. Weasley's), and that even though he let Tonks hold his hand, he never looked her in the eye when he spoke to her and he'd find a way to slip out of her grasp unnoticed.

He was too poor, too old, too dangerous, he said. "Personally," Moody always said in his gruff manner. "-I'd have thought it be obvious to Tonks, Lupin's just not a good match for her. She's still in the puppy-love stage, pun intended, where holding hands is a big thing; Lupin's gone much farther than that. Oh yes, I should know! The number of times I walked in on him and-"Then he'd be cut off by Mrs. Weasley, who would shush him and nod pointedly at Tonks.

But Harry had a feeling he knew what Moody was talking about. He'd never really known the full extent of his godfather's relationship with Lupin ... and he had a feeling he wouldn't want to ...

And Lupin had gone through so much ... he'd lost so many people ... been through so much pain ... One could argue (as Mrs. Weasley so often did) that Tonks had lost Sirius. But, she hadn't really known Sirius for that long, a year at most ... one cannot compare a year with twenty-three years.

Lupin had proved to be a very surprising individual; most unpredictable ... When Snape's trial had been held, Lupin had argued in favor of Snape going free. Harry never really knew what had happened exactly while he was facing Voldemort. He knew there had been a very confusing fight ... something to do with Remus going after Bellatrix ... then Fenrir and Bellatrix dueling Remus at the same time ... then Snape helping Remus fight the both of them ... In the end, Snape had gone free and regained his post as Hogwarts Potions Master.

Now, three years later, Remus still mourned Sirius' death.

"They're holding Bellatrix's trial in a few weeks," was Lupin's greeting to them all, one afternoon in late August.

Moody frowned, "I still can't believe you argued in Snape's favor! It'd been straight to Azkaban if it had been up to me!"

Lupin looked away, "I have my reasons ..."

"I'd sure like to hear them!" prodded Moody.

"Oh, this and that ..."

"Well, I trust you won't help THIS one out!" asked Moody, in his prodding manner again.

Remus froze and when he spoke, it was in an icy tone, "Of course not. She killed Sirius."

Remus looked away, wondering if he should tell them about his dream.

"Technically, the veil killed him."

Remus looked at Harry, "What? What veil!"

"The veil ... in the center of the room ... when he fell through."

Remus heart beat faster, "Wait, Bellatrix killed him ... with _Avada Kedavra_ ..."

"No! The light wasn't green ... I know it wasn't that. It was red, I think it was a Stunner."

Remus put a hand on the table to steady himself. He seemed in deep thought. No one made a sound.

_'It wasn't ... wasn't a dream then ... Sirius is ... Sirius is ... what Moony sensed was ...'_

Finally, Remus spoke, "That veil can't kill ... not if he was stunned ... that veil ... Sirius ... he's ..."

Tonks frowned, "But that was the Death Room-"

"Yes, yes it was ... but ... that veil is ... it lead to an antechamber ... it doesn't lead directly TO the next world ... it's a ... it's the space BETWEEN the two worlds! Don't you see!"

Remus looked at them wildly. When Tonks spoke, it was in a tight voice, "Remus ... Sirius is dead ... you shouldn't ... you should-"

"Move on, dear ... it isn't good for you to focus on someone that isn't coming back-" interjected Mrs. Weasley.

But Remus wasn't listening. He just looked at Moody, smiled, and left just as quickly as he'd arrived.

Tonks frowned at Moody, "What-?"

"You'll understand when you're ... older," was all Moody said.

* * *

He'd done it. He'd gone and tried it and failed. After sneaking in to the Department of Mysteries, which was easier than he'd though, after all that had happened at the Ministry and security was still not tighter ... and gone directly to the Death Chamber. He'd tried every spell he could think of, but the veil remained as ominous and Sirius-less as ever.

_"I tried summoning Sirius, blasting the arch, setting it on fire, nothing worked!'_

He'd come home alone, confused, and miserable, and was now sitting in the dark, with but one candle alight. He sat on what had been 'their' couch, for him and Sirius.

They had been planning to actually tell Harry that they were 'going-out' the very night Sirius had disappeared.

_'Disappeared ... not dead ... not yet ...'_

Remus thought of that night ...

**"Moony?" Sirius sat in front of Remus, who was reading a book.**

**"Yes, Sirius?"**

**"Don't you think we might as well tell Harry ... about ... about us? I mean, we sent him a joint present and we haven't really been hiding anything from him. Yet, he still doesn't get it."**

**Remus laughed, "We don't snog in front of him for it to be THAT obvious!"**

**Sirius raised an eyebrow, "PLEASE, I caught you staring at me for about ten minutes, and I know for a fact Harry noticed as well!"**

**Remus put his book down and crossed his arms, "Well, you were the one flirting with me, when we were supposed to be reassuring Harry James wasn't a self-centered git!"**

**Sirius kissed Remus' cheek, "You look cute when you pretend to be angry. And James WAS a self-centered git!"**

**"Quite," said a new voice. " In any case, his son Potter has gone into the Forbidden Forest with Umbridge. He is still not back and I fear he's believed a vision he saw. 'He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden.' I believe were his exact words."**

**Sirius stood up abruptly and glared at the raven-shaped Patronus that had Snape's voice issuing from it, "No! Remus, alert the Order! We're going to the Ministry!"**

**Remus grabbed his arm, 'You stay here!"**

**The raven sniggered and Sirius frowned, "No Remus, this is my godson. I'm coming as well."**

Remus sighed and looked at his watch, emitting a soft white glow.

_'If only he'd listened ... if only ... damn it all ...'_

The light from the flame reflected on the watch that Sirius had given him and cast a big spot of light on the wall opposite of him.

Realization hit Remus like a slap in the face.

He stood up quickly, "Reflection ... the light is brighter when it's reflected ... I have to go to him! He ... he MUST know!"

With that, he grabbed his coat and disapparated.

* * *

A/N: Whew! Long chappie! And SO fast-paced! What do y'all think? What now! Who's Remus going to for help!

I want a happy ending ... beyond Half-Blood Prince "plots mysteriously"

I'll totally have to make it up, but ... "cough" ANYWAY, BEFORE I GIVE AWAY THE ENDING "AHEM"

Review please!


	22. Scroll 22: Like the Criminal That He Is

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 22: Like the Criminal That He Is

It was the second time a wizard had Apparated on the edge of the river near an old mill with rusty railings separating it from a cracked dingy street, lined with old brick houses.

Remus Lupin looked around and saw an old, wooden sign, that had fallen from the post it had once been nailed to.

"Spinner's End ... this must be it."

He walked quickly, deliberately to an old house, much like the others, but apart and unlit, and made his presence known by rapping on the door three times rapidly.

It took three more, short, rapid knocks for someone to finally answer. The door opened a fraction and only gleaming, black eyes and limp oily hair were visible.

The eyes narrowed, "You? What do you want?"

"I need your help," said Remus, looking around to see if he was followed. He was probably being ridiculous, with the war being over and such, but the habit wasn't easy to break. Besides, Moody kept reminding him he should have CONSTANT VIGILANCE at all times.

"And when do you not?" replied the voice, and the door was thrown open.

Remus walked in cautiously, taking in every detail of the bookcase lined room, with its solitary couch in front of a small coffee table. He sat down on the edge of the couch and began planning just how he was going to ask Snape.

Severus Snape closed and locked the door in one quick movement. He strode over to the couch and sat down just as quickly.

"Well, what do you want?"

Remus' hands twitched nervously in his lap, "I need ... well, I heard Sirius and Harry speaking of it at one time. When Harry was in first year, a Professor-"

"Quirrell tried to kill Potter, he was really a host to the Dark lord, such and such, yes I know. After all, I was there."

"Well, I heard them speak of ... the Mirror of Erised ... "

Snape raised an eyebrow, "And? What do you need with that? Is this about Black!"

Snape laughed cruelly, "No matter how you desire for him to be back, neither the mirror nor any force on earth can bring the dead back."

Remus opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Snape, "Unless you want to raise him as an Inferius, which know how to do, if you want-"

"I sensed him," interjected Remus.

Snape blinked slowly.

"When I transformed ... on the full moon. I smelled him ... I know his scent ... I smelled him."

Snape smiled a bit, "Once a month, you lose your mind completely. You're a vicious wolf who is delusional. Are you really going to trust what you say you 'smelled' like Black? It sounds like complete rubbish-"

"I don't know how I know! I just know, Severus ... it's a dog thing."

Snape's upper lip curled, "And now you're even speaking like him."

Remus blinked. It was true, Sirius had always said, 'It's a dog thing,' when he and Remus would do something incredibly stupid, like taste dog food on James' dare, or when they were caught snogging in the boy's bathroom.

Remus shrugged it off, "In any case, I went to the Department of Mysteries and tried to get Sirius back ... nothing worked, but only because the power of a wand isn't enough. We need a mirror ... that would increase the power ... and reflect it to the veil ..."

Snape frowned, "Would you like some tea, Lupin?"

He waved his wand lazily and a tea kettle and two tea cups appeared.

Remus just stared at him, "You don't ... believe me? Well, then," Remus stood up, "Thank you for your time, I'll do it myself."

As Remus turned to leave, Snape caught his arm and pulled him back down on the sofa.

" You wanted me to help you ... smuggle out one of the most heavily guarded objects in Hogwarts ... to rescue my mortal enemy ...? Suppose I helped you, what would I get in return?" said Snape, lip curled.

Remus looked at him, with a deadpan look, "Anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

Snape considered him a moment, "Black must be important to you. I would have expected anything within reason ... at least. But anything ... this opens up ... many, many ... "

Snape pinned Remus down onto the couch and whispered, " ... possibilities ..."

"Then you'll do it?" asked Remus, nonplussed.

Snape sat up again, "What do you think? That I'd pass up this great opportunity?"

Remus stood up, "Let's go then."

Snape shook his head, "No. not today."

"Why not?"

"The portal ... the veil ... which leads to the antechamber between the two parallel worlds ... is weakest only on one day of the year."

Remus frowned, "Halloween?"

Snape nodded, "So there's no rush. We've got more than a month ..."

Remus sat back down reluctantly, "What is it you want from me?"

Snape grinned, "Oh ... not much. Don't worry ... "

Remus stared at the cup which was now floating in front of him for a long time before taking it and taking a sip.

"What if it doesn't work?"

Snape shrugged, "I doubt the mirror will resist more than one spell. You have one chance only. Personally, I hope you fail."

Remus frowned, "What's guarding the Mirror?"

Snape leaned back and drank his tea, "A giant, three-headed dog, Devil's Snare, winged keys, a troll, a giant chess set, and a potion's room."

Remus put his face in his hands, "I'll find a way ..."

"Don't forget I will be with you," said Snape quietly.

Remus looked up, a sad smile on his face, "Thank you."

There were a few moments of silence. Finally Snape put down his tea, "Why .. did you testify in my favor?"

Remus, too, put down his tea, "I just ... when I was dueling Fenrir and Bellatrix ... you helped me. I knew then, that ... you hadn't wanted to murder Dumbledore ..."

Snape looked away, "I ... made the Unbreakable Vow ... Remus ... I was a coward ... "

His black eyes glittered, "She ... killed Regulus ..."

Remus edged over to Snape, looking concerned, "Severus ... did you ever really love Regulus?"

Snape looked up sharply, eyes narrow. Then he looked away again, "When ... I looked at Regulus ... I saw him ... always. Black ..."

Remus sighed, "I know it must have been ... "

"I always told you, that if only things had been different ... we could have ... " Snape said while looking Remus in the eye.

Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Snape put a hand to his lips and whispered, "Things are different ... there's nothing in our way anymore ... no one in my way ..."

Snape's hand moved to cup Remus' chin, turning it up a bit. He was so close, Remus could feel Snape's breath on him.

It could be so easy ... to just give in to Severus ... to just let Snape's lips press onto his, like they were doing right now, of let his tongue explore his mouth, like it was doing now, or let Snape pin him down and reach into Remus- Sirius' face scowling burst into Remus' mind.

Remus sat up suddenly and broke their heated kiss, "Stop."

Snape frowned at him, but said nothing.

Remus stood up and backed away, almost falling over the coffee table, "I will ... why don't you ... owl me on Halloween ... I'll be there ... good-night Severus."

Snape just stared at him blankly. Remus practically ran out.

_'Good Godric ... to think what would have happened if ... dear Merlin, no ...'_

Remus bit his lip and looked back at Severus' house, _'I'm sorry Severus ... but ... I can't ...'_

With that, Remus turned on the spot and Disapparated.

* * *

Remus Lupin sat on what had once been 'his and Remus' couch' staring at the ceiling and thinking of Sirius. Remembering ... and wishing, hoping for everything to work out ...

It had been three days since he'd let Severus kiss him, and even though Sirius wasn't with him (yet) he felt guilty ... SO guilty and ashamed ...

A loud knock on the door snapped him back to reality. He glanced at his watch briefly (5:30 AM) and wondered who would visit him at such an early hour.

_'Is it ... Severus ...?'_

Remus opened the door without hesitation and immediately wished he could close it, hide under the covers in his warm bed, and have Sirius deal with her.

Oh yes, her ...

"Hem, hem," was her greeting. "I am here on behalf of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic."

Remus smiled despite the urge to throw up that suddenly came over him upon haring her voice ... again, "And why would that bring you here?"

Dolores Umbridge's eyes narrowed. She peered inside, as if trying to find a motive to land Remus in Azkaban. She waited a few seconds for the invitation to come in and sit down, but when none came, she merely smiled her sickly-sweet smile.

"I have something for you, from the most heavily-guarded vaults of Azkaban, you know, for the worst of people," she said, in her high-pitched girly voice.

Remus resisted the urge to hex her. Instead, he smiled, "And what do you have for me?"

"I should think, you would have the decency to invite me in," she said. "But, of course, being ... a half-breed ... I should have known such human pleasantries were ... beyond you ..."

Remus just kept smiling at her, although his smile had become very forced, and Umbridge knew it.

"Sirius Orion Black's wand, I have it. It is yours now."

She held out a long box, smiling triumphantly. It was only until Remus reach up to take it, that he realized why Umbridge looked so pleased.

The box was made of silver.

Remus looked her in the eye, unsmiling. She just smirked even more, "Take it, creature. Or ... ah yes, I remember now! Silver hurts things like you, doesn't it? Pity ... oh well, I guess I'll just have to throw that worthless man's wand-"

Remus did not know what made him do it, perhaps it was because Umbridge had insulted him far too many times and he'd finally reached his breaking point, maybe because she had dared speak of Sirius that way, possibly it was because the full moon had been only two days ago and was still affecting his mind.

He snatched the box from her pudgy hands, never mind the silver burning his skin, and drew his wand, pointing it at her, "Get the bloody hell away from me! And if you DARE speak of Sirius like that again, I will rip you into SHREDS!"

The last word he'd spoken sounded more like an animalistic growl, than his voice. He quickly slammed the door shut and locked it, listening to Umbrige running away. He finally dropped the box, his hand was raw and bloody, and Sirius old wand fell out of it, rolling away to the window.

Remus walked over and picked the wand up, falling to the floor on his knees and leaning against the wall.

_'Dammit Sirius ... I'm going mad ... I'm going crazy ... I need you here ... before I lose the little control I have over myself ... '_

His head fell back, onto the wall with a soft 'thump'. He looked up at the open window, where the nearly- fullmoon twinkled overhead and nearby ... a bright star ... the brightest star in the sky ... Sirius ...

**"Look at us, Moony! We're the shiniest damn things in the night sky!"**

* * *

Remus Lupin was planning something. Harry knew it, Mrs. Weasley knew it, Moody knew it, and Tonks knew it.

She noticed he seemed more quiet than usual, usually staring at the fire, or spending half the day locked in his room, listening to the Beatles', which had been Sirius' favorite Muggle music group, along with the Pointer Sisters, of course.

He spent countless hours, flipping through books that he'd close and seal if anyone disturbed him. They were photo albums, Tonks knew that much ... but she wondered why he never shared them with her.

Unrequited love ... it hurt ... it really hurt sometimes.

He didn't let her hold his hand anymore, he stood up whenever she sat down next to him, and he avoided looking at her as much as possible.

Mrs. Weasley said it would all soon pass, that he was going through a tough time, but really, when had he not been?

Tonks sighed as she mused about the few times she'd held his warm, gentle, but firm hand ... the rare times she'd kissed him good-night on the cheek before leaving his house ... of the one time she'd leaned in to kiss him on the lips, and Remus had instead pushed her away, gently, and turned away.

Now he paced. He looked at Mrs. Weasley's clock, remembered that it did not tell time, and looked at his wristwatch, and tugged at the collar of his shirt. He had rejected all offers of food, tea, and chocolate cake (which was to say something, considering Remus Lupin was addicted to chocolate) the various times Mrs. Weasley offered him.

It was a cold day, that October 30th, but Remus Lupin stood outside as the cold winds bet upon him, tousled his hair, and whipped his scarf in all directions. Never mind his nose and cheeks were red, or his lips were chapped, he stood outside ... waiting ... waiting ...

Harry walked to the window and walked as Tonks ran out and took Remus' arm. He didn't even look at her, only shook his head. After a long time, they both walked back into the house, arm in arm.

Mrs. Weasley was overjoyed when she saw Remus come in with Tonks, "Well, now that you have set aside any silly-"

One dead-pan look from Remus, and Mrs. Weasley fell silent.

"In actuality ... Tonks, I need to speak to you. In private."

Tonks nodded and followed Remus up the stairs.

Harry had a burning curiosity, not to spy on Remus and Tonks (for he had an idea of what Remus wanted to talk to her about), but of what Remus was waiting for.

Moody on the other hand, had his magical eye follow them. He sniggered after a while, until Mrs. Weasley shot him a reproving look. He said, instead, "Well, it's not a bad thing really ..."

Tonks sat down on the topmost stair, "Yes, Remus?"

Remus looked at the wall when he spoke, leaning against the banister, "You're young, you have your whole life ahead of you-"

"Not this again!" Tonks said angrily, standing up.

"-This isn't working out," Remus finished flatly.

"Because you don't want it to! You think I'm in danger, but I'm not! Remus, I love you ... that should be good enough ... Sirius is ... stop clinging to a memory-"

"I'm ... too old for you ... I've said it ... you're still young and full of life! I barely have a house ... I don't have a stable job ... I'm too poor for you!"

"Maybe I don't want someone rich-" Tonks interjected, but was cut off.

"Maybe they don't have to be rich, maybe they just have to have enough to be able to provide for you ... I don't ... and ... you mustn't forget what I am. I'm too ... dangerous ... too ..."

_'Too old, too poor too dangerous ... too ... gay?'_ thought Remus ridiculously.

"Maybe I'm willing to take that risk!"

Remus looked her in the eye finally, "I don't want to wake up one day and find I've bitten you, or ripped your to shreds!"

Tonks' eyes pleaded with him, but Remus just smiled sadly, "And anyway ... this may be the last time you see me ..."

Tonks frowned and was about to say something, when there was a great gust of wind and a raven Patronus came flying in, stopping in front of Remus.

Remus gave Tonks' hand one last squeeze and ran down the stairs, the raven trailing behind him.

Harry was utterly confused when Tonks came down, tears in her eyes. He looked at Ginny, who shrugged.

For some reason ... Moody was snickering ...

* * *

As was planned, Severus Snape was waiting for remus at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

He stood at the door, glowering anyone who so much as looked at him. Remus walked up to him.

"So, it's time?"

Snape shrugged, "We do need enough time to get the Mirror, smuggle it out of Hogwarts and get into the Ministry before midnight tomorrow."

"It sounds easy enough-" began Remus, but was cut off by Snape.

"It's not. Now if you'd stop talking, then we could get on with it!" Snape said coldly.

Remus shrugged and followed Snape towards the castle. Getting by McGonagall was not an easy task, as she now monitored Snape's movements very closely.

They made it, however, to the third floor safely unnoticed. Now came the hard part.

"Wait out here," said Snape and promptly disappeared into the locked door of the third-floor corridor.

It was a few loud growls later that Snape let Remus in, to the sound of soothing music coming from a charmed harmonica.

Remus frowned as he looked at the big three-headed door, "Well ... isn't he a ... rather large-"

"When we fall down the door get ready to use fire," said Snape as he hurriedly threw open the trapdoor.

"Why do I-" Remus was cut off once again by Snape who roughly grabbed his arm and pushed him down the opening.

When Remus landed, he immediately used _Lumos_ and knew exactly why Snape, who just fallen beside him, was struggling to get away,

"Devil's Snare ..." muttered Remus before using _Flamare Maxima_, as Snape had instructed.

"This can't get any worse," he said bitterly, ripping a plant tendril that threatened to strangle him.

"Just watch," replied Severus, walking quickly.

"We have to get on those ... to catch those ..?" asked Remus, uncertainly and pointed to the dusty broomsticks and Winger Keys in turn.

Snape just snatched a broom and mounted it.

Remus stared at him, "There's no way ... I'd be lucky to stay on at all!"

Snape smirked, "Still an idiot off the ground? You haven't changed a bit ..."

With that, Snape was off, leaving Remus to watch amazed at how a person could maneuver their way though keys beat madly against them, find the key, and throw it to him.

Remus fumbled with the lock for a moment as Snape touched down next to him, "Wait, you'll have to get on one. If you want to avoid the impossible game of chess Minerva has so kindly devised ..."

Remus looked at the dusty broomstick leaning against the wall a few feet from them.

"You could always ... ride mine ... "

"What, ride your broomstick?" Remus cringed as soon as those words left his mouth. He pictured Sirius snickering, "You wanna ride his broom STICK!"

Snape just frowned at him, "Unless you'd rather fall on your ass in the middle of a murdersome chess board, I really don't care!"

"Okay, okay."

Remus mounted Snape's broom with difficulty, finally settling himself behind Snape.

"Better hold on," Snape warned.

"But what do I hold on to- WOAH!" Remus was thrown backwards and had to hold on to Snape's waist to keep from falling. The ride was short as fast, but Remus did not dare loosen his tight grip on Snape, or open his eyes.

It was only until Snape had cleared his throat loudly and announced, "We're here," that he dismounted. Or ... rather slid off onto the floor.

"Where are we?" he asked, standing up as flames shot up from both ends of the room.

Snape's upper lip curled, "You didn't even see that dead troll skeleton, did you? This ... is ... MY piece of the Puzzle."

Remus' eyebrows shot up, "Seeing as how I can't even boil water correctly, there's no way I could get a potion right-"

"Drink this," Snape thrust a large round bottle at Remus after taking a drink.

Remus did so and was pulled through the fire safely by Snape.

"There. That's it, right there." Snape pointed to the center of the large room, where the Mirror of Erised stood.

Remus walked over, immediately looking into the mirror's depths, "There he was smiling, with Sirius behind him, hugging him and nibbling at his neck. Remus tore his eyes away from the mirror after some time.

"How are we going to get it out?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, flicked his wand and the mirror rose off the ground a few inches.

"Right," said Remus simply.

It took longer to bring the mirror out safely from the corridor, and Fluffy was no help either. To make matters worse, the sun had risen and classes were in full progress when they finally made it out. Everyone wondered where Professor Snape had gone, and was he ever going to come back, and pleading that he wasn't.

In any case, Snape and Remus had to pool every ounce of determination, sneakiness, and knowledge of the castle's secret passages to make it out without being caught.

There were very near misses, three of them in fact, and all involving Professor McGonagall, who as both Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher was even more cross that usual.

Remus was glad when they finally reached Hogsmeade and took the Knight Bus to the streets near the Ministry of Magic.

* * *

"Tha'll be 20 Sickles, for extra protection of yer mirror thing. Wouldya look a tha'? Ain't it intrestin', Ern? Ain't it? Ain't it?"

Snape had only to shoot him a glare for Stan Shunpike to fall silent. Remus and the mirror followed Snape to an alley across from the Ministry of Magic.

"It's stupid really, how they haven't noticed how easy people can spy on the Ministry from here."

Remus leaned against the wall opposite Snape, "People like Death Eaters?"

Snape's hand moved idly to his left forearm, where he unconsciously rubbed hard while looking straight ahead. He whispered, "Quite ..."

"Severus? What do you see in the mirror?"

Again came Snape's glare that meant it was time to shut up.

"That everything was different," said Snape finally; Remus did not quite understand him, but did not dare press the subject.

Night finally fell, and still they waited ... waited until the various wizards and witched that worked in the Ministry had Disapparated. It was the darkest hours of the night, cold and windy when Remus looked at his watch, then at Snape, who nodded.

The phone booth that was really a lift, always unnerved Remus. How the voice could remain cool and calm even when the Ministry was being infiltrated; and how his badge always said, 'Remus Lupin, Registered Werewolf; Rescue Mission.'

And also, after all that had happened with the Death Eaters in the Ministry ... once again Remus wondered why they didn't tighten security at least a little bit.

Snape sighed, "We've a few minutes ... We've got to set up the angle."

Remus looked around the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries. He tugged at his shirt anxiously. He knew how much was riding on this one moment.

_'One try ... one try and ... and ... it's over ... one try and if I fail ... Sirius ... I swear by Merlin ... if I fail you ... I'll kill myself! I really will! Please let me ... please give me-'_

Remus thoughts were interrupted by Snape.

"I said, what spell are you going to use? Seeing as how he's not dead or alive ... I think you should use _Rennervate_, but then again, I don't want him alone. Why should you trust me?"

Remus frowned, "Yes, why did you help me?"

"You told me I could have anything in return. If Black comes back ... well, you'll see ... "

Remus kept frowning, but Snape just pointed at the floor, "Stand there, and try a spell. Just a small one."

Remus did as he was told and raised his wand, "_Reducto!_ The spell hit the mirror and bounced off, reflected onto the veil, which just absorbed it ...

Remus bit his lip, "Well ... the angle's okay ... "

Snape nodded, "I don't usually make mistakes in measurements ... we've ... two minutes."

Remus looked down at his wristwatch and nodded, _'Two minutes ... just two minutes in which Sirius could come back to me ... or ...' _

'No! Don't think that way ... this will work ... Severus knows what he's doing ... he wouldn't ... he'd never ... would he? Just to get back at me ... for ... I don't know! Would he really mislead me!'

"One minute," came Severus' soft whisper as he backed away a bit, behind the Mirror of Erised.

_'He seems so ... calm ... but then again, it's so hard to tell with Severus ... I can never know what he's ...'_

"Thirty seconds ..."

Remus bit his lip, _'What to do...? What to do? Severus would never really, he's never lied ... not to me anyway.'_

"Ten seconds."

_'It's ... I have to trust him ... I really have no choice ...'_

"Three, two-"

_'It's now or never.'_

"One!"

Remus raised his wand and looked straight into the mirror, reflecting his deepest desires, "_RENNERVATE!'_

* * *

A/N: Another cliff hanger! Yay! "throws Padfoot/Moony plushies" Sorry for the delay, but there you have it!

So many reviews ... and I wish I could answer all your ques. but I know I'll forget someone ... and they'll be SO SAD!

"whispers" Plus I'm too lazy to go back and sort them out. "wink"

All you need to know is ... NOTHING! HAHAHA! You'll have to wait for the next chapter!

Did Snape lie to him? Will it work? Or will Snape just stand there and laugh his arse off as the spell is absorbed by the veil ... "ahem"

So um ... review please!


	23. Scroll 23: Forever Young

Under the Full Moony

Scroll 23: Forever Young

"Ten seconds."

_'It's ... I have to trust him ... I really have no choice ...'_

"Three, two-"

_'It's now or never.'_

"One!"

Remus raised his wand and looked straight into the mirror, reflecting his deepest desires, "_RENNERVATE!'_

A great flash of light shot from Remus' wand towards the Mirror. Remus fought to keep his wand steady, as it shook uncontrollably in his hand. The beam of light hit the Mirror squarely in the center and reflected to the veil.

Remus did not know whether it hit the veilor was merely absorbed by it, he sank to his knees and struggled to keep his eyes open. His wand was vibrating even harder, his hand shaking from side to side, he felt as though his energy was slowly being pulled from him and onto the spell ... he fought for consciousness ... but was steadily ... losing ...

* * *

Harry frowned at the door through which Tonks had left for more then four hours, and had not yet returned. 

"You think she's okay?" Ginny asked Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Harry looked up, smiling and gave her a brief kiss, "I think she can manage ... she is an Auror after all-"

The door burst open and Tonks stood there, her hair tousled, "I fear for him,"

Mrs. Weasley hurried over, leading her over to the fire and handing her a cup of hot tea.

"He's not there ... I went ... and what he told me ... I fear for him ... "

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, "It's just something he's going through, he'll be fine. Dear ... maybe ... what he said ... maybe he's just not interested-"

Ginny and Hermione's eyes widened and they shook their heads vigorously at Mrs. Weasley. Tonks looked up miserably, her eyes watery, "You think ... he really ...doesn't love me?"

Mrs. Weasley looked up at the girls helplessly. They rushed over and Ron stayed behind safely with Harry on the couch.

"Why's she care so much? I mean, s'not like they've been together much over the last three years. And mind you, Lupin is old for her."

Harry shrugged, "I'd rather not get involved."

Ron nodded, "Very wise, Harry ... very wise."

* * *

"I think you're the one taking a ridiculous note in this, Tonks, really," said Hermione, matter-of-factly as was her way. 

Ginny glared at her, "That was obviously not the thing to say, Hermione!"

Hermione shrugged, "I just don't see why she can't move on. She's acting like a child who wants a toy she can't have. But that's just my opinion."

Ginny shook her head and muttered, "Tactless!"

Tonks was quiet the whole time. She stared out the window, barely noticing anything anyone said.

Mrs. Weasley walked over and embraced her tightly, "Hermione's right in one thing ... you should move on, Tonks. I know I was the one who told you to fight for what you want ... but ... maybe Remus isn't the one for you."

Tonks looked up and managed a small smile, "Maybe ... maybe you're right ... maybe-"

But they were off as the front door of the Burrow slammed open again. This time, it was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

He looked worried as he announced gravely, "There's been a ... theft at Hogwarts."

Everyone in the room either gasped or gaped at him. A theft at Hogwarts was like a tame dragon, or a Death Eater without a Dark Mark. Very rare, near impossible!

"And ... who ... do you know?" Mr. Weasley managed to choke out.

To everyone's surprise, Moody chuckled and looked up from his plate, "I'd have thought it was obvious."

He went back to gnawing on a chicken bone and everyone turned back to Kingsley who looked at Moody strangely.

"It was Severus Snape and-"

"Why can't anyone ever understand he's a no-good, rotten bastard! I can't believe McGonagall let him teach at Hogwarts after-"

Kingsley frowned and interjected, "Wait, he wasn't alone! He had an accomplice-"

"What did they take?" interrupted Moody.

"The Mirror of Erised, but-"

"What would Snape want with that? The Mirror doesn't grant wishes, it just-" began Ron.

But Harry had stood up and was walking towards Kingsley, "Tell me ... who helped him!"

Kingsley opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted for the fifth time, by Moody again, "Remus Lupin."

There was a ringing silence that was broken by Kingsley finally nodding, "Right. We have some leads from the Knight Bus as to where they were headed-"

"Tell me WHERE!" demanded Harry.

"The Department of Mysteries," finished Shacklebolt quickly.

"Harry, don't-" Ginny began, but Harry was already out the door.

Kingsley made as if to follow, but Moody shook his head, "Don't even try. You won't stop him. No one can."

Harry felt anger boiling in his chest. Snape had betrayed everyone who trusted him AGAIN, when would they all learn he was just a filth, oily-haired git!

But what hurt the most was that the only person closest to a godfather he had left, Remus Lupin, had helped him! He'd betrayed them as well! Now, Snape would use some dark magic to revive Voldemort or ... some other person just as horrible.

But ... Lupin wouldn't really cave in for someone like Snape. If he hadn't in the first war, or when he'd been seriously tempted by the werewolves, or at all in the second war, why would he join them now? Maybe Snape had kidnapped Lupin and made it seem as though Lupin was helping him!

Yes, that was it! The perfect plan! He probably needed Lupin's extensive knowledge from his dark ritual of evil. If it worked, he'd kill Lupin and help his new Master. If it didn't at least he'd take Lupin down with him.

After all, who'd believe a werewolf? Lupin was as good as imprisoned! And it did make sense, seeing as how Snape had hated his father and all his friends!

With new-found hatred burning in his heart, Harry ran through the deserted streets towards the Ministry of Magic, not knowing if his thoughts made sense at all, but not really caring, as long as he could hate Snape.

* * *

Remus gasped in pain as he felt his strength being ripped away from his body. He could barely keep his wand hand up, pointing at the mirror and his vision was beginning to blur. 

_'Did Severus ... did he know ... was my death all he wanted ...? I can't die ... for Sirius ...'_

Remus was on his knees, gasping for breath. His wand was jerking violently from side to side. He fought for consciousness, but found himself weakening.

_'Sirius ... I'm sorry ...'_

With his last ounce of strength, Remus looked up at the Mirror. There was a blinding flash of white light, and Remus knew nothing more.

* * *

When Snape saw Remus drop to is knees, his first instinct was to run over and break the connection so Remus would be safe. But he knew Remus would never forgive him for ruining his chance to bring Black back. 

And so Snape watched the cruel progression of the spell as it weakened Remus. His hand was shaking uncontrollably, eyes squinting.

It was only when the Mirror of Erised shattered and smoke burst into the air, that Snape panicked. He could see nothing, only heard the mirror's fragments fall to the ground, a horrible creaking noise, and the thump that announced Remus had fallen to the ground.

Snape did not know whether to be happy or disappointed. The spell had not worked after all.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" came the cry of a man, faint at first, then louder, and louder, and through the smoke Snape saw the outline of curtains ... the veil .. rising high as if wind was blowing, and a man shoot out the other way that Black had entered.

Snape's heart sank, _'It worked after all ...'_

Once the dust had cleared, Snape saw Remus still lying facedown on the floor and wondered why Black had not come running to him. Then he saw the reason, Black had been immobilized upon entering the veil by Bellatrix. Now he could just lie there, on the ground, eyes wide and obviously confused.

Snape smirked, _'And now ... I get my payment.'_

He grabbed Remus off the floor and dragged him next to Sirius, putting his down into a sitting position. Black's eyes widened and he was obviously trying to move or speak, or do something ... but couldn't.

With a satisfied smirk, Snape tilted Remus' face upwards and leaned in.

Not having absolutely any control over his body, Sirius was forced to watch in disgust as Remus was forcefully kissed by Snape.

_'Oh ... ugh! OH SICK! GROSS! He's FRENCHING HIM! If I could I'd hurl! Look at those disgusting pale lips ... the sickness of his tongue ... IS HE GROPING MOONY! LET ME AT HIM!' _thought Sirius.

But it was in vain, that Sirius struggled. He could do nothing. Thankfully, Remus woke up and tried to push Snape away. But Snape held fast and instead pushed him on top of Sirius and kissed Remus' neck ... moving lower.

"What the-?" came a voice from the doorway.

Sirius looked over, thanking any Muggle gods, and Godric Gryffindor, and the Four Founders of Hogwarts. He had never been so happy in his life to see his godson.

Snape let go of Remus immediately and swept out of the door, black cloak trailing behind him. Remus smiled apologetically, "Severus gets ... carried away, sometimes."

_'Uh hello ... I'm HERE!'_

Remus had suddenly taken notice of Sirius. His eyes widened and filled with tears, "Dear ... Merlin ... SIRIUS!"

Remus looked around for his wand, but Harry had already come down.

With a quick _'Ennervate'_ and a flash of light, Sirius was sitting up and being smothered by Remus who was hugging him tightly. Harry had fallen to his knees and was staring at him, with an expression of utmost disbelief.

"You're ... but ... everyone thought ... everyone ... "

Sirius gave Harry a one-armed hug and found he was still holding his wand. He pocketed and looked around, "Hey ... I was just gone for a sec! Speaking of which, where's Bella! I've a duel to finish- hey! Where IS everyone!"

Remus finally let go of Sirius, "They're ... you were gone for more than just a second, you know."

Sirius frowned, "How long?"

"Three years," replied Harry and Sirius paled.

"THREE YEARS! THREE BLOODY YEARS! How the hell-!"

Remus blinked hard to keep from crying, "Everyone thought you were gone ... even I said ... but I never really believed ... and- Oh Sirius!"

Remus threw himself at Sirius again, who hugged him back shaking his head in disbelief, "Three years, THREE years! Moony ... I'm sorry ... I guess ... I did leave you after all."

Remus was about to reply when they were interrupted by the last person any of them ever wanted to see, though for various reasons, each different.

"Hem, hem," said Umbridge and walked into the room, looking at the broken mirror, and Remus' wand split in two down the center, the unicorn's hair lying sadly on the floor.

Remus looked at it but shrugged, _'It was worth it ...for Sirius ...'_

She walked up to them smugly, "I see the creature is here. I should have known ... only you would be so foolish as to bring the very item you have stolen to the Ministry of Magic! How very thoughtful!"

Sirius stood up and glared at her, "Hello, toad."

She gasped, "You! But you were dead! That's the only reason I gave the okay for your name to be cleared!"

Sirius' mouth dropped open, "I'm ... I'm ... I'm CLEARED! I'm ... I'm a free man! Where's Wormtail!"

Remus smiled, "Awaiting trial, like Bellatrix."

"HAH! I'll go and LAUGH in their faces! LAUGH I'll tell you!" Sirius grinned happily and took Remus' hand and put his other hand on Harry's shoulder. "My, you've really grown, Harry! Look at that-"

"Hem, hem! The creature is still a criminal! You can-"

"Alright, listen frog. Moony probably just borrowed the Mirror! It wasn't any of your business what goes on in Hogwarts anyway! Once we explain his reasons to Dumbledore, I'm sure-"

"He's dead," said Harry in a hollow voice.

"WHAT!" Sirius asked incredulously. "WHAT! HOW! WHO!"

"Snape," replied Harry.

"Then why the hell is he running around free-!"

"I ... served as a witness that he was innocent. Along with ... others," said Remus quietly.

"AND THEY RELEASED HIM! WHY! You're MAD! So who's running Hogwarts!"

"McGonagall," said Harry this time.

"Bully for you, she doesn't like you either," Sirius informed Umbridge. "Come on you two, let's BLOW this joint!"

Under any other circumstances, Remus would have scolded Sirius, but he was too happy for that. He and Harry just laughed along.

Sirius was back. Here, holding Remus' hand. He pinched his leg with his free hand several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

He wasn't.

Words could hardly describe what he felt as he walked through the streets of London with Sirius' arm around his waist.

"Harry, we were planning on telling you ... the night when I disappeared into he veil ... well, um, Moony, you tell him."

Remus shook his head, "You."

Sirius pouted, nonetheless looked back at Harry, "You know how we sent you a join present last Christmas, and totally ignored you when we were supposed to be talking about James, and finish each other's sentences ... me and Moony, you know?"

Harry looked away, embarrassed, "Don't even say it, I already know."

Sirius frowned, "No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"We're boyfriends."

"I know that!"

"We sleep together."

"I KNOW that!"

"We have s-"

Remus cleared his throat, "SIRIUS, don't go into DETAIL! And I told you I hate that you refer to us as boyfriends ..."

Harry was now staring intently at the sidewalk, "I ... can't hear you!"

Sirius laughed and looked up, "We're close to the Burrow aren't we? I wanna see all their faces when they see I'm NOT DEAD!"

Sirius laughed suddenly, "I'm free! FREE! My name is CLEARED!"

Remus looked around at a few people who'd stopped to stare, "Sirius! Honestly ..."

Sirius pointed, "There it is! Damn, I'm starving, aren't you starving?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm a bit hungry. Although I wasn't thinking about it when I went to get you at the Department of Mysteries."

Remus smiled at Harry, "On this night ... your parents were taken from you ... but your godfather was brought back."

Harry grinned, "Yeah ... thanks."

That's how they walked into the Burrow, talking and laughing, completely oblivious of everyone as they dropped everything and stared at Sirius.

Sirius finally looked at them, "Oh. Hello there."

And Remus was somehow pushed aside as everyone crowded around Harry and Sirius, wondering how they were dong, how worried they had been, and how DID Sirius come back, and was he really not a ghost?

Remus sat down on a chair near the fire and smiled. He felt so happy, so giddy that Sirius was back, yet fearing that it was a dream.

Tonks was in the corner, looking at Sirius fearfully. Remus knew why ... If Sirius ever found out Tonks had wanted to ... Tonks had fancied Remus, she'd never hear the end of it. Remus really hoped Tonks found love ... someone nice like ... Kingsley ...

That night passed quickly and Remus didn't remember much of it. Finally Sirius stood up and announced he was tired and was going to turn in.

"Good idea," said Mrs. Weasely, who'd been considerably warmer towards Sirius, now. "Everyone, bedtime!"

Her kids groaned and fussed, but a look from Mrs. Weasely and everyone trudged upstairs. Sirius finally walked over to Remus, who could barely keep his eyes open, and kneeled in front of him, one hand on Remus' leg.

Remus spoke first, "Your wand, it's in my cloak."

Sirius sniggered, "Not yet, but it will be!"

Remus blushed, "I mean you MAGICAL wand! To do spells!"

Sirius frowned and pulled out his wand, "It was in my pocket, Remus."

"No! Not Regulus' wand ... yours! The one they took from you when you went to Azkaban!"

Sirius' mouth dropped open, and he retrieved it, studying it carefully, "WOW! I haven't held this thing in ... what, twenty years! Oh ... how did you get it?"

Remus smiled bitterly, "Umbridge gave it to me. "

Sirius' eyes narrowed suspiciously, "In exchange for what? She never gives-"

He suddenly caught sigh of Remus' hand and dropped to his knees at once, taking Remus' hand into both his own.

"Silver ... she gave it to you in a silver case, didn't she!"

Remus shrugged, "It's not like-"

"WHAT A BITCH! If I'd have known back there ... I'd have ... KILLED HER!"

Sirius kissed Remus' hand lightly, "I'll kiss it better ..."

Remus laughed, "Sirius, really ..."

"I'm sorry I couldn't ... didn't give you a proper hello back there," Sirius interrupted.

Remus just shrugged and smiled at Sirius, "We've a whole lifetime ahead of us."

Sirius leaned up and pulled Remus into a deep kiss, pressing his lips onto Remus' gently, then not so gently, hungrily pushing Remus onto the couch and wrapping his arms around Remus' waist.

They lied there, Sirius on top of Remus, on the couch, in a tangle of limbs.

"Let's be young forever," whispered Sirius, giving Remus a small kiss.

"Agreed," replied Remus and tilted his head for another minute of snogging, when they rudely interrupted by a gray Hogwarts owl.

Sirius groaned and snatched the letter from it's leg, ripping it open, annoyed.

He read it aloud, "To Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black, if he is present ...Blah, blah, so pleased Sirius is back, worried about you, Remus ... could have said something if you wanted the Mirror, taken care of the Ministry ... Mirror is back in its place ... blah, blah, BLOODY HELL! she's mad!"

"What? asked Remus, concerned.

"Guess what Mc G. has JUST asked us to do!"

"WHO!"

"McGonagall! Look!"

Remus read the letter quickly and grinned, "You want to?"

"We might as well, I'm completely BROKE!"

Remus nodded, "Okay. Let's ... but first I'm going to need another wand ..."

"Tommorow," muttered Sirius, kissing Remus' neck.

"Tommorow."

* * *

"Sirius Orion Black, get to class!" said Remus loudly.

Sirius lowered his wand, dropping Snape from the ceiling, where he'd hung him, "I was just havin' a bit of fun! AND demonstrating the proper Sticking Charm."

Remus shook his head, "You're going to be late! And don't come visiting me when you don't have classes, remember, I do!"

Sirius walked over to Remus and pulled him into a long kiss, which caused several people to stare.

"Hey, we're young! Let's live a little!" he said when they pulled away.

Remus sighed, a smile playing around the corners of his lips.

Sirius grinned, "Come on ... admit that wasn't funny ... Professor Remsus JohnLupin."

"It was a bit ... Professor Black," admitted Remus.

Sirius instinctively ducked and pulled Remus down as a jinx flew past. They turned to Snape who was white-faced and pointing his shaking wand at them.

Sirius blocked all his jinxes easily, almost lazily, "Can I PLEASE, Professor Lupin?"

Remus let out his, almost-giggle-laugh, "Don't ask me."

Sirius flicked his wand, and Snape was hanging upside down.

Everyone in the hall laughed and Sirius sighed, "Just like old times."

Remus shook his head and crossed his arms, but was smiling, "Quite ..."

_It's so hard to get old without a cause  
I don't want to perish like a fading horse  
Youth is like diamonds in the sun  
And diamonds are forever _

So many adventures couldn't happen today  
So many songs we forgot to play  
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue  
We let them all come true

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_**The End**_

* * *

A/N: I totally did NOT give a warning that this was the last chapter, did I? Well, it is. All good things must come to an end! Look for me in the wide forest of Harry Potter fanfiction, for I will return with another story some day! Very soon probably ...

Anyway, do me a last favor and ... review please! You'll get free Moony and Padfoot shaped cookies! Thank you everyone who has stayed with me since the very first chapter! "waves" See ya later!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter ain't mine. It's J. K. R's and ... Warner Brothers? All the song lyrics ain't mine either ... I claim no rights except for that of my ideas, and the titles! "wink"

Review please!


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